U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
BURUNDI - Complex Emergency
Situation Report #1, Fiscal Year (FY) 2002    October 3, 2001


Note: this situation report updates Information Bulletin #1 for FY 2001
dated July 3, 2001

BACKGROUND

The Tutsi minority, who represent 14% of Burundi's total 6.6 million
people, have dominated the country's political, military, and economic
arenas since national independence in 1962.  Approximately 85% of
Burundi's population is Hutu, and approximately 1% is Batwa.  In October
1993, the current cycle of violence began when members of the
Tutsi-dominated army assassinated the first freely elected President,
Melchoir Ndadaye (Hutu), sparking Hutu-Tutsi fighting in which more than
50,000 were reported killed.  Ndadaye's successor Cyprien Ntariyama (Hutu)
was killed in a plane crash on April 6, 1994 alongside Rwandan President
Habyarimana.  Sylvestre Ntibantunganya (Hutu) took power and served as
President until July 1996, when a coup brought current President Pierre
Buyoya (Tutsi) to power.

In August 2000, nineteen Burundi parties signed the Peace and
Reconciliation Agreement in Arusha, Tanzania overseen by the Burundi peace
process facilitator, former South African President Nelson Mandela. The
Arusha Peace Agreement includes provisions for an ethnically balanced army
and legislature, and for democratic elections to take place after three
years of transitional government.  The three-year transition period is
scheduled to begin on November 1, 2001 with President Pierre Buyoya
serving for the first 18 months. The candidate of the "group of seven"
parties (G7) representing Hutu interests, Domitien Ndayizeye, is
designated Vice-President.  For the remaining 18 months, the president
will be chosen from the G7 and the Vice-President will be chosen from the
"group of ten" (G10) Tutsi parties. Democratic elections would follow the
three-year transition.

However, the two main Hutu opposition groups -- the Forces for the Defense
of Democracy (FDD) and the National Liberation Front (FNL) -- have not
signed the peace agreement.  Clashes between rebel and government forces
continue regularly around the capital, Bujumbura, and sporadically
throughout the country, prompting population movements.  Erratic rainfall
in parts of the country over the past five years has contributed to
widespread food insecurity and malnutrition.  Humanitarian workers in
Burundi are developing extensive contingency plans for the possibility of
the return of some of the 565,000 Burundian refugees currently in
Tanzania.



NUMBERS AFFECTED AT A GLANCE
SOURCE

Internally Displaced
Total: 580,000
-- 380,000 in 210 sites
-- 200,000 displaced living with host populations
U.S. Committee for Refugees

Refugees from Burundi
Total: 407,600
-- 365,000 in Tanzania, plus 200,000 semi-integrated refugees from the
   1970s
-- 20,000 in the DRC
-- 1,000 in Rwanda
-- 1,600 in Zambia
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Refugees in Burundi
Total: 28,800
-- 27,518 from the DRC
-- 1,282 from Rwanda and other countries
UNHCR

Repatriated Burundian Refugees
Total: 26,380
-- 6,380 in 2000
-- 20,000 in 2001
UNHCR

Total FY 2001 USAID Humanitarian Assistance to Burundi  $24,798,882
Total FY 2001 State/PRM Humanitarian Assistance to Burundi  $2,100,000
Total FY 2001 USDA/FAS Food Assistance to Burundi  $12,051,000
Total FY 2001 USG Assistance to Burundi  $38,949,882



CURRENT SITUATION

Coup Attempts: On the night of July 22, young Tutsi soldiers staged an
unsuccessful "mutiny" against the current power regime in Burundi.
Government troops pursued an estimated 100 army rebels north of Bujumbura,
and the rebels surrendered in the town of Ngozi on July 23.  Pressure from
Tutsi hardliners and their continued opposition to the Arusha process has
contributed to ongoing tension in Burundi. There were two coup attempts in
2001, less than three months apart.  The earlier unsuccessful attempt was
on April 18, when approximately 30 junior officers seized the state radio
and television station in Bujumbura.

Continuing Insecurity:  International organizations have reported that the
civil conflict has claimed an estimated 200,000 lives in the past eight
years of conflict.

An UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
mid-September update on the humanitarian situation described the overall
security situation in Burundi as "volatile and precarious."  There have
been continuing reports of movements of Interahamwe and ex-Rwandan armed
forces from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into Cibitoke and
Bubanza provinces in northwestern Burundi, destabilizing these provinces.
Bururi, Makamba, and Rutana provinces in the south remain insecure, which
has limited consistent humanitarian access to populations in need.

Fighting between government troops and opposition FNL forces in Bujumbura
Rural province has intensified in recent weeks.  Armed robberies and
thefts in the capital, particularly of communications equipment, have also
increased.

Aid workers have reported increasingly difficult circumstances in
internally displaced camps in Makamba province, at the southern tip of
Burundi, which borders Tanzania.  Armed groups returning from Tanzania
have created an insecure environment for local residents and for emergency
aid workers.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN World Food
program (WFP) have found increasing difficulties in providing seed and
food distributions to the most vulnerable in the northern provinces, where
people were the hardest hit by poor harvest in seasons past.

Improvements in NGO Communications: Over the past year, humanitarian
agencies have been working to establish a common humanitarian security
radio channel for non-governmental organizations (NGOs)  working
throughout Burundi, to be implemented by the UN Security Cell.  On August
25, the Communications Unit within the Government of Burundi (GOB)
Ministry of Defense (ARCT) which oversees all communications in the
country signed a three-month agreement authorizing the use of the channel
nationwide. In a positive evolution in procedure, the ARCT removed
previously high fees levied against individual radio handsets.  The UN
Security Cell is currently working to expand repeater coverage
countrywide.  Improved communications contributes to heightened security
for NGOs working in Burundi.

Food Insecurity: Poor and erratic rains in recent years contributed to
drought conditions in northeastern Karuzi and Muyinga provinces.  Certain
communes in Kayanza, Kirundo, Muramvya, Mwaro and Ngozi provinces were
also affected by erratic rains and decreased crop yields.  Malnutrition
rates dramatically increased between September 2000 and February 2001.
Humanitarian workers in Burundi do not expect these extremely high levels
to repeat between September 2001 and February 2002.  The 2001 Season A
(September-January) harvest was a moderate improvement from previous
years. Some areas of expanded security helped promote planting while
increased precipitation in February and March positively contributed to an
improved 2001 B (February-June) harvest. 2001 Season C (July-August)
crop yields were also positive.

Although there have been sufficient harvests in recent seasons, crop
yields remain below pre-1993 levels.  According to an August UNOCHA
update, preliminary assessments have revealed 112,000 vulnerable
households that will be in need of supplementary seed protection rations
during the upcoming 2002 Season A (September 2001 – February 2002).  The
vulnerable populations are in eight provinces: Bujumbura Rural, Gitega,
Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Muramvya, Muyinga, and Rutana.

FAO is currently preparing for the 2002 Season A distribution of 1,885 MTs
of seeds and tools to 207,900 targeted families (totaling more than 1
million beneficiaries).  FAO plans for the distributions to be completed
by October 15, by which time the rains should have begun.  WFP is also
coordinating with FAO to distribute seed protection rations approximately
five days prior to the delivery of seeds.

USAID/OFDA Director Visit to Burundi: From August 26 to 29, USAID/OFDA
Director Roger Winter visited Burundi to discuss the current humanitarian
situation with UN, GOB, and bilateral officials, and NGO representatives.
Director Winter stressed that Burundi is a continuing U.S. Government
priority, raised the issues of the emergency NGO radio network and
humanitarian access, and discussed the current political climate in light
of the upcoming transitional government set to commence on November 1,
2001.



USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA)
contributed approximately $12 million in FY 2001 funding for Burundi which
focused primarily on nutrition and food security programs.  USAID/OFDA has
shifted its emergency program focus towards food security initiatives
through a variety of approaches, and supports food security programs
primarily in areas where nutritional programs have been funded with the
goal of decreasing the need for direct nutritional assistance. USAID/OFDA
also supports the distribution of non-food items, UN coordination
actitivities, water and sanitation activities, and flights for
humanitarian personnel by the WFP.

USAID's Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Foreign Agriculture Service (USDA/FAS) have provided
emergency food commodities in FY 2001.  USAID/FFP has provided 15,960 MT
of emergency commodities to support comprehensive nutrition programs and
an assistance package for vulnerable IDPs, at an estimated value of $12.9
million.  USDA/FAS has provided 19,000 MT of emergency commodities to
Burundi, valued at more than $ 12 million.  The commodities were provided
through the WFP to assist war-affected and displaced vulnerable
populations.

The State Department's Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration
(PRM) has earmarked $2.1 million to ICRC for its program in Burundi.  In
addition to supporting UNHCR's assistance programs for Congolese and
Rwandan refugees in Burundi, PRM provided $12,841,948 in earmarked
contributions for programs in Tanzania to assist Burundian refugees.  PRM
also provided $9,681,948 to UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, IFRC, IRC, Africare, CARE,
and Norwegian People's Aid for a variety of refugee assistance programs,
such as refugee children's assistance, environmental initiatives,
education and health programs.  PRM provided $993,270 to the global U.N.
World Health Organization's Roll Back Malaria program, a portion of which
will be used in Burundi. In addition, PRM provided $60 million of
unearmarked funding to UNHCR in Africa, and $45.1 million to ICRC in
Africa, a portion of which is used in Burundi.



U.S. GOVERNMENT HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO BURUNDI

Agency
Implementing Partner
Sector
Provinces
Amount


FY 2001

USAID 	$24,798,882
USAID/OFDA  	$11,914,482


Concern Worldwide
Food Security and Nutrition
Bururi, Bujumbura Rural
$413,737

Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
Non-Food Items and Food Security
Kirundo
$971,891

UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Coordination and Seed Distributions
All
$901,500

Gruppo Volontariato Civile (GVC)
Nutrition
Bujumbura Rural
$153,054

GVC
Nutrition
Bujumbura Rural
$796,685

International Medical Corps (IMC)
Nutrition
Muyinga, Rutana, Kirundo
$373,810

International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Water and Sanitation
Bujumbura Rural, Makamba, Muyinga, Kirundo
$181,882

Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF)
Nutrition
Bujumbura Rural, Karuzi
$2,199,271

Solidarites
Nutrition
Gitega
$589,274

UNICEF
Nutrition and Health
All
$2,000,000

UNOCHA
Coordination
All
$300,000

UN WFP
Logistics
All
$639,924

World Vision International (WV)
Food Security
Kirundo
$214,942

WV
Food Security
Karuzi
$1,199,701

WV
Food Security
Muyinga
$496,675



USAID/OFDA
office and administrative costs
Administrative
Bujumbura
$482,136




USAID/FFP   $12,884,400

WFP
11,900 MT of emergency commodities to support comprehensive nutrition
  programs and an assistance package for vulnerable IDPs.
All
$10,463,300

ICRC
4,060 MT of emergency commodities
All
$2,421,100



USDA   $12,051,000

WFP
19,000 MT: 3,000 MT corn-soy blend (CSB), 1,000 vegetable oil, 5,000 MT
  corn, and 10,000 MT cornmeal
All
$12,051,000



State/PRM  $2,100,000

ICRC
Conflict victims
All
$2,100,000


Total USG FY 2001	$38,949,882



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