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UN refugee agency to move ahead with relocation of Congolese refugees
18 Aug 2004 UN High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers says the refugee agency is moving ahead with its plans to relocate Congolese refugees in transit centres along the tense Burundi border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lubbers presided at a memorial service for victims of Friday's massacre at the Gatumba facility for the Congolese in Burundi. -
UN peacekeepers tighten security along Burundi-Congo border
17 Aug 2004 UN peacekeepers have tightened security along the tense borders of Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo following the massacre of 151 Congolese refugees at a transit centre in Burundi. Preparations are underway for the relocation of the refugees to a new site approved by the Burundian government. -
Burundi to set up refugee camp for new Congolese arrivals following deadly attack
16 Aug 2004 The hundreds of ammunition shells scattered at the Gatumba transit centre underline the severity of the attack that left 150 Congolese refugees dead. High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers calls it an "appalling massacre." In its wake, Burundi finally agrees to set up a refugee camp for the new Congolese arrivals at a safe area in its interior. -
Burundi: UNHCR begins relocation of newly arrived Congolese refugees
6 Aug 2004 The UN refugee agency has begun relocating some of the 20,000 refugees who fled fighting in the South Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in June. They are currently crammed in three transit centres along Burundi's Cibitoke border. -
Congolese refugees start returning from Burundi; mixed feelings about security
6 Jul 2004 Hundreds of Congolese refugees who fled into Burundi in early June have returned home to assess the situation or to take final school exams. While there are still tensions in parts of eastern DR Congo, certain towns have resumed some semblance of normality. -
UNHCR works to improve aid to refugees amid new arrivals in Burundi
29 Jun 2004 A group of 238 Congolese refugees have crossed into Burundi amid reports of renewed fighting in their homeland. UNHCR has moved them to three transit centres, where it has completed aid distribution and is working to start education programmes and recreational activities for refugee children. -
Emergency aid arrives for Congolese refugees on Burundi border
25 Jun 2004 UNHCR and its partners are distributing food and relief items in Rugombo, Cibitoke and Gatumba. The agencies are also working to prevent the spread of cholera and to help separated children to find their families, while evaluating alternative sites to relocate the refugees away from the border. -
New border crossing drums up interest in Burundian return
24 Jun 2004 A group of 245 Burundian returnees were treated to drums and dances when they arrived home from Tanzania during the official opening of the border crossing at Mugina, the first such crossing into southern Burundi. -
Burundian government to set aside land for new Congolese refugees
22 Jun 2004 The government has agreed to identify land 200 km from the Burundi-DR Congo border to shelter some of the 31,000 Congolese who have arrived since June 9. Meanwhile, small numbers of Congolese refugees in Rwanda have returned home.