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More routes to open for spontaneous Burundian returnees from Tanzania
21 Aug 2003 The governments of Burundi and Tanzania have agreed to open three new border crossings between the two countries to make it easier for Burundian refugees who wish to return home on their own. -
Returns to Burundi rise amid fears of pressure in Tanzanian camps
2 Jun 2003 The UN refugee agency is concerned that more Burundian refugees may be going home now because of increasingly difficult conditions in Tanzanian camps as a result of declining assistance and mounting pressure from local authorities. -
Thousands flee Congo for Burundi amid latest rebel fighting
12 May 2003 Nearly 5,000 people have arrived in Burundi's border area after fleeing fighting in south Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The UN refugee agency is trying to move them to a safer camp, but some prefer to stay close to the border in order to check on their property back home. -
Feature: Hope and despair for uprooted Burundians
19 Mar 2003 While many Burundian refugees in Tanzania are returning with optimism to the relative safety of northern Burundi, others who continue fleeing rebel fighting in southern Burundi are losing sight of peace. -
UNHCR closes reception centres on Burundi-Congo border
17 Mar 2003 The UN refugee agency has closed Rugombo and Gatumba reception centres in the volatile border area after completing the transfer of Congolese refugees to a safer camp further inland. But it has kept basic facilities at the two centres in the event of another influx of refugees. -
UNHCR moves Congolese refugees to safety in Burundi
13 Feb 2003 Thousands of refugees are set to be transferred away from makeshift centres near the volatile Burundi/Congolese border into camps further inland in Burundi. Many others, however, insist on staying in the border area to observe the situation and cross back home when things calm down. -
Feature: Judgement call for Burundi's returnees
7 Feb 2003 Burundian residents and returnees can now settle land and family disputes out of court through a UNHCR-funded judicial clinic, where legal experts provide informal mediation to help them resolve their differences without the time and expense of normal court proceedings. -
Burundian refugees return to north despite fighting in central province
24 Jan 2003 Undaunted by recent fighting in central Burundi, Burundian refugees in Tanzania are still choosing to return to their homeland's more peaceful north, where they receive a warm welcome from family and friends who stayed behind. -
Feature: Refugees adrift in Africa's Great Lakes region
23 Jan 2003 They are victims of the region's conflicts - born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Burundian refugees, but forced to flee back to their parents' homeland by recent fighting in north-eastern Congo. The UN refugee agency in Burundi is trying to find land for some of them and to reunite others with long-lost relatives.