OCHA Situation Report
Burundi
Update May 2003
27 June 2003


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Humanitarian
Editorial

Despite the change in president, fighting has continued in parts of the
country.  There is little doubt that though a few may have benefited, the
large majority of civilians continue to suffer, and providing humanitarian
assistance remains difficult for the those involved.  Most humanitarian
agencies agree that their main problems remain the lack of security on the
ground and lack of government clearance to access war-affected
populations, and, all too frequently, a combination of the two.

Assistance to vulnerable populations in Bubanza and Ruyigi provinces

As many as 10,000 people have fled Bubanza Province, northwestern Burundi,
since fighting between the Government and Forces pour la défence de la
démocratie (FDD) rebels erupted Thursday 8 May.  The United Nations, and
its implementing partners, have planned an aid distribution as soon as
security conditions allow.  WFP, through its implementing partner CARE,
provided emergency food assistance to 18,775 persons (displaced and their
hosts) in Bubanza Province.  88.8 Mt of food was distributed as a
seven-day emergency ration.  Based on the assessment conducted in Rugazi
commune, 3,849 households shall be assisted with a 20-day food ration from
June to December 2003.

Concerned by the difficult situation faced by thousands of people in
Ruyigi province UNICEF, in collaboration with OCHA (Inter-agency Office in
Ruyigi), Action Aid and the local NGO Maison Shalom, assisted 23,254
households (116,270 people) in Ruyigi Province through the distribution of
non-food items.  WFP could not distribute food targeted for 21,165 persons
due to the persistent insecurity in Nyabitsinda commune of Ruyigi province
but assisted 20,000 persons in Ruyigi commune.

Security

Fighting claims more lives

Clashes between the army and the rebel movements continued to be reported
across the nation, but notably in Bujumbura Rural and Bubanza provinces.

Significant incursions were also reported in Ruyigi, limiting humanitarian
access and intervention in certain communes.  In total, 32,845 people
could not be reached by food assistance due to insecurity.  In Kayanza
Province, reports indicated that landmines, allegedly laid by FDD rebels
while retreating to the Kibira Forest, exploded and killed two people.

Ambushes on roads leading to the interior (mainly in Makamba and Cibitoke
provinces) have continued.

Political

Burundi/Tanzania relations

On Monday [12 May] President Ndayizeye, thanked Tanzania for its support
in the country's peace process - asking his neighbour to help implement
the 3 December 2002 ceasefire agreement signed between the government and
rebel groups.  "We need help to convince the Conseil national pour defence
de la démocratie-Forces pour la défence de la démocratie [CNDD-FDD] group
led by Peter Nkurunziza to join our institutions, the National Assembly,
the Senate and not forgetting the defence forces," he said during an
official visit to Tanzania.

US support for peacekeepers to Burundi

Ethiopian peacekeeping troops heading to Burundi have been supplied with
almost US $1 million worth of military equipment and training by the
United States of America.

The U.S. support, according to the statement, is part of the African
Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) programme run by
the U.S. Defence Department.  "The equipment and training provided by
ACOTA will enhance the capability of Ethiopian peacekeepers for taking
part in the African Union mission in Burundi."

Regional peacekeeping summit called

On Thursday [8 May] Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni invited Regional
Heads of State to attend a summit on the political transition and
deployment of a peacekeeping force in Burundi.  No date has been set for
the proposed meeting.

Returns to Burundi rise amid fears of pressure in Tanzanian camps

Nearly one month after the installation of a new president in Burundi,
close to 5,000 Burundian refugees have returned home from refugee camps in
Tanzania amid growing concerns that the refugees' decision to go back is
not wholly voluntarily.

Returns during May are the highest so far this year.  Some 4,000 Burundian
refugees have gone home on their own to southern provinces in Burundi
despite the prevailing insecurity in provinces such as Ruyigi and Makamba,
while another 700 have been assisted home to areas of northern Burundi on
UNHCR-organised convoys.  Many of those repatriating complain that the
level of food assistance in Tanzania's camps has steadily declined.


DRC REFUGEES

Nearly 5,000 people from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC) took refuge in Burundi after fighting between rebel groups and a
major assault by the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD-Goma), driving
people out of their homes in south Kivu.  The situation in eastern DRC
continues to deteriorate.

Returnees

UNHCR report [31 May] 10,732 facilitated and 14,195 spontaneous returnees.
Total: 24,927 Y.T.D.

Associations in Plea to Government over HIV/Aids Treatment

During a three-day HIV/AIDS workshop in Bujumbura, four associations
fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in Burundi made a recommendation appealing
to the Government to improve access to anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) for
children orphaned by AIDS.

"The government has not put much focus on the care of HIV/AIDS orphans,
and very few children are under anti-retroviral treatment," Spes
Nihangaza, who heads the anti-AIDS Famile pour Vaincre le SIDA (FVS), told
IRIN.

Riots end food distribution

The World Food Programme in Burundi reported that [during the reporting
period 5-11 May] two riots at distribution points - with the aim of
stealing food, were reported respectively in Rutana and Bujumbura Rural
provinces.  Distribution in Rutana was suspended after 500 of the 2,610
people planned for food assistance were served.  Throughout the month of
May, WFP distributed a total of 5,148 Mt of food through its various
programmes and activities.  However, 1,084 Mt of food planned for targeted
distributions were not served in Gitega, Rutana and Ruyigi provinces due
to insecurity and in Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie/Rural provinces due to lack
of military escorts or Field Security Officer.

UK Government progress report on Africa

[30 May] The UK Government published a progress report, (
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Pubs/files/africa_action_plan.pdf)  presented at
the G8 meeting in Evian, France, on the G8 Africa Action Plan - outlining
what the UK has done to help support progress towards reducing poverty in
Africa.

Valerie Amos, Secretary of State for International Development and the
UK's Africa Personal Representative said: "This report sets out the
progress made on the Africa Action Plan since last year's Summit.  It
includes progress made in amount and quality of aid flows, education,
health and peace and security - including the development of a plan to
enhance Africa's peacekeeping capacity."

The report includes progress on promoting peace and security, highlighting
the DRC and Great Lakes Region, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, Sudan and
Angola.

First cantonment of rebels set to open in June

"The first operational cantonment zone will be set up at Muyange in June
2003 and will be supervised by South Africans," according to an official
AU communique [25 May].

"We cannot give the precise date for the starting of the cantonment
operation, but at the beginning of June, we will be ready to receive the
rebel combatants who want to integrate these zones," an African Force
officer told AFP news agency.

Over 900 South African troops of the African Force are already deployed in
Burundi.  The African Force mission is to contribute to disarmament and
demobilisation of rebel combatants.

Burundian women at risk

Burundian women are increasingly falling prey to rape by rebels,
government troops and militiamen as the 9 1/2-year civil war continues in
this small central African nation, U.N. officials said.

Women and girls as young as six-years are raped in Burundi.  The exact
number of cases is very difficult to assess because some victims remain
silent for fear of stigma associated with sexual violence and the lack of
a system for documentation, said Mr Malick Sene, the Representative of the
United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Since the workshop on the issue held in April by the Ministry of Health,
UNFPA and UNICEF followed by sensitisation activities conducted by various
actors, the silence is about to break and an increased number of cases are
reported to health centres both from women raped by armed men and from
women victims of domestic sexual abuse.  The Ministry of Health, NGOs and
UNICEF are preparing six workshops in the most affected provinces in order
to address sensitisation activities in addition to documentation,
counselling and juridical assistance to victims of rape.

IMF approves US$ 13m in post-conflict emergency assistance for Burundi

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Monday [5 May] a second
drawing of SDR 9.625 million (US$ 13 million) in post-conflict emergency
assistance for Burundi to support the government's reconstruction and
economic recovery program.

This program seeks to address immediate security needs, humanitarian aid,
and the rehabilitation of basic infrastructure, including improving the
macroeconomic environment.

UN Security Council praises peace process

The members of the UN Security Council welcomed the positive steps
recently underway to advance the peace process in Burundi and further
encouraged the political actors and armed groups to opt for dialogue and
eschew violence.

The Council Members also welcomed the deployment of the African Mission in
Burundi (AMIB), and appealed to donor countries to make resources
available for its deployment and support, UN news reported.

Humanitarian Update is produced by the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Bujumbura, Burundi. It is compiled from input
received from United Nations agencies, donors and NGOs working in Burundi.
Tel: (257) 218034 / Fax: (257) 218035 E-mail: mcgowann@un.org


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