Over 330,000 DRC Citizens Flee To Burundi, Tanzania Due To Conflict

MOSCOW, Jan 20 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- More than 330,000 people have been forced to cross the border with Tanzania and Burundi, fleeing the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti quoting a Actualite news portal report.

The report, citing DRC Minister for Social Affairs, Humanitarian Action, and National Solidarity Eve Bazaiba, stated that about 250,000 Congolese have sought refuge in Burundi, while Tanzania has accepted 87,000 people, including 50,000 children, the report said on Monday.

The minister reportedly added that the epidemiological situation in refugee camps remains unfavourable.

According to doctors working on the ground, 198 cases of cholera have been detected among Congolese refugees in Burundi, including two fatalities, the report read.

The M23 movement was formed in 2012 by Congolese Tutsis. In late January 2025, M23 launched a large-scale offensive, escalating the conflict in the eastern DRC. Between January and February, rebels seized Goma and Bukavu, the provincial capitals of North and South Kivu. From March to July, hostilities intensified, triggering mass displacement and worsening a food crisis in the region. Although a ceasefire agreement was signed on July 29, clashes persisted.

M23 forces took control of the strategically important city of Uvira without a fight on December 10. On December 17, the rebels announced that they would leave the city at the request of the United States. However, Agence France-Presse later reported, citing sources, that M23 police officers and intelligence agents remained in the city after the declared withdrawal.

--BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI