At least 85,000 refugees flee recent DR Congo violence to Burundi, say officials

At least 85,000 refugees have crossed into Burundi after the M23 militia's latest advance in the eastern DR Congo, Burundian officials said Tuesday, warning of dire overcrowding and "catastrophic" conditions.

The Rwanda-backed M23 group said earlier Tuesday it would withdraw from the key city of Uvira, near the border with Burundi, which it seized last week after a fresh offensive in the mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The assault came only days after a peace deal was signed in Washington, which was thrown into doubt by the latest violence, raising fears of a wider regional war.

"Approximately 25,000 refugees are currently registered in Gatumba, and nearly 40,000 in Buganda," said Ezechiel Nibigira, the Burundian president of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) commission, citing local authority data.

The figures, he said, "continue to rise daily."

Gatumba and Buganda are both in northwestern Burundi and located near the DRC's border.

"The vast majority of these refugees are women and children living in extreme precariousness, and entirely deprived of basic means of subsistence," he told a press conference.

They face "acute shortages of food, shelter, sanitation facilities, safe drinking water, basic health services," Nibigira said, compounded by overcrowding leading to fears of disease.

Augustin Minani, an official in southern Rumonge area, said the situation was "catastrophic" and threatened to overwhelm local authorities.

He said between 20,000 and 25,000 refugees had arrived since December 10 from the DRC, including some 3,000 on Tuesday.

"They lack everything. They have received some aid, but the vast majority are dying of hunger because there is nothing to eat, no medicine, no shelter," he told AFP.

The United Nations has reported that more than 200,000 people have been displaced as a result of the offensive on Uvira, but it is unclear how many have now traveled to Burundi.

The latest violence follows the capture early this year of two other major eastern cities, Goma and Bukavu, which also caused mass displacement.