NAIROBI: The United Nations appealed for $33 million in urgent funding to help more than 80,000 people who have fled to Burundi after the latest advance by Rwanda-backed militants in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
After seizing the major Congolese cities of Goma in January and Bukavu in February, the M23 armed group launched a new offensive in early December near the Burundian border, even as Rwanda and the DRC signed a peace agreement in Washington.
The M23 on December 10 took control of Uvira, a city of hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, giving it control of the land border with the DRC’s ally Burundi.
Under US pressure, the group said it would withdraw from Uvira but some of its police and intelligence agents were still deployed in the city on Thursday, according to local and security sources.
“Following recent violent clashes in South Kivu, notably around Uvira... a significant influx of refugees has occurred since December 5, with an estimated arrival of nearly 80,000 people through various entry points,” said the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
The refugees include 71,989 Congolese and 8,000 Burundians, it added.
The organization, which expects a total of 90,000 new arrivals, launched an appeal on Thursday for $33.2 million (28.3 million euros) to enable it to host them in decent conditions.
It published a photo showing dozens of people camping under trees, without any infrastructure to accommodate them.
On Tuesday, two Burundian officials estimated that at least 85,000 people had fled the DRC in recent weeks to seek refuge in Burundi.
Ezechiel Nibigira, the Burundian president of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), reported 25,000 refugees in Gatumba, western Burundi, and nearly 40,000 in Buganda in the northwest, most of them “completely destitute.”
The administrator of the southwestern Burundian city of Rumonge, Augustin Minani, described to AFP a “catastrophic” situation in his commune with 20,000 to 25,000 refugees from the DRC who “lack everything,” of whom “the vast majority are dying of hunger.”
The UN counted more than 200,000 displaced people last week due to the offensive, though it is unclear how many are now in Burundi.
UN urges aid for DRC refugees in Burundi
https://arab.news/mzgq7
UN urges aid for DRC refugees in Burundi
- The United Nations appealed for $33 million in urgent funding to help more than 80,000 people who have fled to Burundi
Ukraine’s Zelensky: We have backed US peace proposals to get a deal done
- “The tactic we chose is for the Americans not to think that we want to continue the war,” Zelensky told The Atlantic
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had sought to back US peace proposals to end the war with Russia as President Donald Trump seeks to resolve the conflict before November mid-term elections.
Zelensky, in an interview published by The Atlantic on Thursday, said Kyiv was willing to hold both a presidential election and a referendum on a deal, but would not settle for an accord that was detrimental to Ukraine’s interests.
“The tactic we chose is for the Americans not to think that we want to continue the war,” Zelensky told the US-based publication. “That’s why we started supporting their proposals in any format that speeds things along.”
He said Ukraine was “not afraid of anything. Are we ready for elections? We’re ready. Are we ready for a referendum? We’re ready.”
Zelensky has sought to build good relations with Washington since an Oval Office meeting in February 2025 descended into a shouting match with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.
But he said he had rejected a proposal, reported this week by the Financial Times, to announce the votes on February 24, the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion. A ceasefire and proposed US security guarantees against a future invasion had not yet been settled, he said.
“No one is clinging to power,” The Atlantic quoted him as saying. “I am ready for elections. But for that we need security, guarantees of security, a ceasefire.”
And he added: “I don’t think we should put a bad deal up for a referendum.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Zelensky is not a legitimate negotiating partner because he has not faced election since coming to power in 2019.
Zelensky has said in recent weeks that a document on security guarantees for Ukraine is all but ready to be signed.
But, in his remarks, he acknowledged that details remained unresolved, including whether the US would be willing to shoot down incoming missiles over Ukraine if Russia were to violate the peace.
“This hasn’t been fixed yet,” Zelensky said. “We have raised it, and we will continue to raise these questions...We need all of this to be written out.”
