Thousands of Congolese refugees arrived in Burundi on Saturday, after renewed violence linked to the M23 group in the Democratic Republic of Congo's North and South Kivu provinces.
Video from the Burundian border town of Bujumbura shows men, women, and children lining up around a United Nations refugee truck, waiting to be transported to designated refugee camps.
At transit sites, families are still waiting to be evacuated and are being exposed to heavy rain and precarious sanitary conditions. Humanitarian officials warn of a lack of food and basic necessities.
A fleeing DRC resident narrates, "Several people were killed, and our soldiers fled. As they were fleeing, they fired shots and people died."I wanted to go back to retrieve my clothes when a bullet passed over my head, A person in front of me was eventually struck by a bullet."
The situation remains uncertain as the M23 group advances and is reportedly just a few kilometres from the border between the DRC and Burundi.
Frightened families are waiting their turn to be evacuated with their children and the few belongings they managed to carry, despite bad weather and hazardous terrain.
According to media reports, over 20,000 refugees have already been registered with Burundi's National Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (ONPRA).
"With this rain, it's a real problem. It causes many diseases. We also have a food problem. These people arrived on Saturday and, so far, they have received no food assistance or basic necessities," says a ONPRA official.
Burundian authorities have stepped up security measures and screening upon the refugees' arrival. Burundi, an ally of the DRC, accuses neighboring Rwanda of supporting the M23 - an allegation repeatedly denied by Kigali.
M23 advanced into the key strategic city of Uvira in DRC's South Kivu province, despite a peace accord between the DRC and Rwanda, which was overseen by President Donald Trump in Washington just one week earlier.
Burundi says it is determined to support the Congolese government in strengthening security and in the fight to eradicate the M23.
The resurgence of violence in eastern DRC is raising serious concerns across the Great Lakes region, already marked by diplomatic tensions and recurring humanitarian crises.