Congolese refugees living in Bujumbura, Burundi, have been gripped by fear due to a wave of arrests and searches being carried out by the country’s police, with some being deported back to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the very nation they fled from.
According to information from SOS Médias Burundi, a crackdown has been ongoing in Bujumbura, targeting Congolese nationals residing in the city.
The outlet reports that the latest operation took place on Friday, October 3, in the Mutakura neighborhood in northern Bujumbura, where the Burundian police conducted a large-scale search. Many of those targeted were Congolese refugees who were arrested for lacking proper documents authorizing them to live in Bujumbura.
Four days before that Friday, a similar operation had been carried out in Cibitoke Province, where several people were arrested. Some of them have been detained for days, only to be released after each paid a fine of 200,000 Burundian francs.
Meanwhile, those found without any identification documents were immediately deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo through the Gatumba-Kavimvira border, even though it is reported that many of them were refugees who had fled from their country due to insecurity.
A Congolese community leader living in Bujumbura strongly condemned the ongoing actions against his fellow countrymen in Burundi.
He said: “Burundi is a friendly nation to the DRC. We do not understand why people are being arrested in large numbers and deported. Some of our people are being sent back to areas that are still experiencing security problems.”
He continued: “Others do not want to apply for refugee status because they regularly cross the border for work to support their families here in Bujumbura. We are calling on the Government of Burundi to stop these operations that are harassing Congolese nationals.”
The Congolese man, who resides in Bujumbura, added that the fines imposed on arrested Congolese and the deportations are negatively affecting many families. He appealed to the Congolese Embassy to engage in dialogue with the Burundian authorities to put an end to these operations that are separating families.
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