• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 21 April 2006

BURUNDI: UNHCR suspends operations at Gasorwe camp after skirmish

BUJUMBURA, 21 Apr 2006 (IRIN) - The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has suspended its activities at Gasorwe camp in Burundi's northeastern province of Muyinga after protests at the camp turned violent.

The agency said it would not resume operations until Burundi's security forces had completely restored order. "We want security guaranties for [UNHCR] agents," Catherine Lune-Grayson, the UNHCR public relations Officer said on Thursday.

Grayson said the violence began on Tuesday, when a Burundian man, his wife and their three children went to the camp to seek refugee status. When the UNHCR agent, who determined that their claim was invalid denied the request, the family prevented the agent from leaving the UNHCR office.

Some of the Congolese refugees then joined in, and the situation became violent when people began throwing stones, damaging several UNHCR vehicles. There were no injuries.

Burundian police from the nearby town of Muyinga quickly intervened taking the Burundian family into custody. The police are still investigating the cause of the violence. A UN official who requested anonymity said the refugees are now fending for themselves as no humanitarian organisation can enter the camp until the investigation is complete.

Gasorwe camp currently hosts 8,730 mostly Congolese refugees, many of whom were transferred from Cishemere transit camp in the northwestern Cibitoke Province.

Northern Burundi also hosts at least 19,000 Rwandan asylum seekers, many of which are at Songore transit camp in Ngozi Province. The Burundian government said on 10 April that it would deny most of them status as refugees and that they would be expelled.
The Congolese refugees who took part in the violence said they are dissatisfied with the assistance they have so far received from UNHCR, Grayson said.

Gasorwe camp currently hosts 8,730 mostly Congolese refugees, many of whom were transferred from Gatumba transit camp in Bujumbura Rural province after a massacre of more than 160 Congolese refugees at the camp in August 2004.

Northern Burundi also hosts at least 19,000 Rwandan asylum seekers, many of whom are at Songore transit camp in Ngozi Province. The Burundian government said on 10 April that it would deny most of them status as asylum seekers and that they would be expelled.

[ENDS]

This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006