The U.N. refugee agency says 3,088 Burundians have arrived at the Nyabitare transit center after spending more than a decade in refugee camps in Tanzania, according to a statement posted Thursday on X by UNHCR.
The agency said the returnees were received at the eastern Burundi facility in the presence of Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Ruven Menik and regional officials, including Fatima Mohammed-Cole, the agency’s regional director and representative in Burundi. The post added that “since January, more than 20,000 people have been repatriated.”
Nyabitare is a transit site in Gisuru commune in eastern Burundi that has long served as a reception point for returning refugees arriving from Tanzania.
Voluntary repatriation of Burundian refugees from Tanzania has been underway for years through agreements between the two governments and UNHCR. The agency says it has supported nearly 260,000 Burundians returning home since 2017, providing assistance with protection, reintegration and basic services.
UNHCR and partners also rehabilitated the Nyabitare transit center in 2024 to improve reception capacity for returnees, according to an operational update.
The broader regional context remains complex. Analysts and humanitarian observers say many Burundian refugees fled to Tanzania during political unrest in 2015 and that efforts to close camps in Tanzania have renewed pressure for returns.
Transit centers like Nyabitare serve as initial reception points where returnees are registered and provided assistance before being transported to their communities of origin. Past monitoring reports have documented waves of arrivals numbering in the thousands at such sites, underscoring the logistical demands of reintegration.
UNHCR officials present at the latest arrival did not release additional public remarks in the social media update, but the agency’s post emphasized the scale and continuity of returns this year.
