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UN repatriates 300 000 refugees
02/04/2008 08:20 - (SA)
Bujumbura - The United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday that it had repatriated 300 000 Burundian refugees from camps in Tanzania, in what it said was a milestone in efforts to resolve Africa's refugee crises.
Tens of thousands of Burundian refugees also returned home on their own - mainly from villages in the northwestern Tanzania - bringing the total number of returnees to 389 000, UNHCR said.
"The 300 000 mark is a significant milestone in our efforts to find lasting solutions for long-term refugee situations on the African continent," UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis said in a statement.
In the early 1990s, nearly 500 000 Burundians fled into Tanzania after violence erupted at home. The agency's repatriation operation began in 2002 after peace efforts in Burundi.
About 102 000 Burundian and 96 000 Congolese refugees remained in five camps in northwestern Tanzania, the statement added.
In addition, UNHCR was working with Tanzanians to resolve the situation of 218 000 Burundian refugees who fled their country in 1972 and lived in three self-sufficient settlements, and for 2 000 Somali Bantus living in Tanzania's Tanga region.
Burundi was still emerging from 14 years of civil war that killed 300 000 people and remained locked in a crippling political crisis.
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