The UN is Concerned as Tanzania Drives away Burundian Refugees

As Tanzania demolishes their homes and churches, Burundian refugees are being forcibly removed from camps and forced to return, frequently after years of exile. According to local media, Burundi’s Interior Minister Leonidas Ndaruzaniye announced this week that a deal with Tanzania will allow for the repatriation of over 100,000 Burundian citizens by June.

As of late 2025, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) projected that 142,000 Burundians were living in two camps after fleeing years of political repression, civil war, and deep poverty in their little nation in the Great Lakes area of Africa.

Refugees in the camps at Nduta and Nyarugusu have informed AFP that violence is forcing them to leave, and Tanzanian security personnel are in charge of destroying their homes.Gerard, a 33-year-old former nurse who lived in Nduta and, like others in the camp, only revealed his first name out of fear of retaliation, stated, “They began destroying our houses in early January.”To shatter the walls of our adobe brick homes, they bring big tree trunks. “If we try to resist, the police are shooting at us, so there’s nothing we can do,” he told AFP over the phone.

Several refugees reported that entire communities, including churches, had been demolished and that hospitals and schools had been shut down. They also claimed that they were not allowed to leave their houses to go farming.

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