Over 63,000 people now have crossed into the country, Burundi, fleeing atrocities<\/strong>, deadly conflict in parts of eastern DR Congo,\u201d said Faith Kasina, UNHCR Regional Spokesperson for East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes.<\/p>\nAmid the largest influx of refugees Burundi has seen in decades because of the hostilities in eastern DRC\u2019s mineral-rich region, the UNHCR official issued an urgent appeal for immediate and sustained humanitarian funding to meet growing needs among the new arrivals. \u201cThis country, despite its best efforts, was not prepared for this emergency,\u201d Ms. Kasina noted.<\/p>\n
The alert comes just days since UNCHR warned that sexual violence and human rights abuses remain rampant near the frontlines in DRC, along with looting and destruction of homes and businesses.<\/p>\n
Aid response \u2018buckling\u2019<\/h2>\n
To assist the new arrivals, UNCHR and partners are registering them in Rugombo before facilitating their onward passage to refugee sites far from the border. \u201cBut without more or without sustained funding\u2026the aid response is literally buckling,\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n
At least 45,000 refugees have crammed into a stadium in Rugombo. \u201cConditions are extremely harsh\u2026there are at least 45,000 people still sheltering in the stadium. The stadium is literally bursting at the seams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Testimonies from many of those fleeing grave rights violations in eastern DRC linked to the M23 advance have continued to highlight the seriousness of the ongoing emergency.<\/p>\n
DR Congo rape alert<\/h2>\n
On 4 March, UNHCR warned that 895 cases of rape were reported to humanitarians in the last two weeks of February alone – an average of more than 60 a day.<\/p>\n
One new mother \u201ctold me she gave birth three days before she had to flee and she had to cross the Rusizi river with her newborn baby in her arms and four more by her side,\u201d Ms. Kasina said. \u201cShe was seeing people\u2019s property and people\u2019s luggage go down the river and she was scared for her life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another DRC victim uprooted by the conflict described how she had already fled to Rugombo in Burundi as a teenager \u2013 \u201cNow she\u2019s forced back in the almost exact same spot now with six children\u2026it\u2019s just as an unending cycle of displacement.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\nHighlighting the high number of children separated from their parents, UNHCR has set up a protection desk because \u201cthey have no point of contact and therefore these protection desks are useful in terms of trying to identify them<\/strong>, trying to connect them or reunite them with close family members\u201d, the UNHCR official explained.<\/p>\nThere are over one million Congolese refugees across Africa, mainly in neighbouring countries. Uganda hosts more than half of that total, while Burundi has seen most new arrivals since January\u2019s flash M23 offensive.<\/p>\n
Prior to the current crisis, some 6.7 million people were internally displaced within the DRC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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