Tanzania has reached an agreement with neighbouring Burundi to begin sending back all Burundian refugees from October, adding that the repatriation will take place in collaboration with the United Nations.
However, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in a statement said conditions in Burundi, which was plunged into political crisis four years ago, are not conducive to promote returns adding that it is assisting refugees who indicate they have made a voluntary choice to return home.
Hundreds of people were killed and more than 400,000 fled to neighbouring countries due to violence the UN says was mostly carried out by state security forces following President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision in April 2015 to run for a third, disputed, term in office.
Nkurunziza won re-election and, the following year, Burundi suspended all cooperation with the UN human rights office in the country after a UN-commissioned report accused the Bujumbura government and its supporters of being responsible for crimes against humanity.
Currently, some 200,000 Burundians are in Tanzania, according to government figures.
