42,000 people fled eastern DRC to Burundi in two weeks: UN

Around 42,000 people have fled the conflict raging in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and crossed into Burundi in the past two weeks, the United Nations said Friday.

Rwandan-backed M23 fighters have made big gains in the eastern DR Congo, seizing the cities of Goma and Bukavu and stoking fears of a regional conflagration.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR had expected that the violence would send people fleeing into Burundi, making plans to help up to 58,000 people over three months, said Brigitte Mukanga-Eno, agency's representative in Burundi.

But "just in first two weeks, we have received ... around 42,000 people already seeking asylum", she said as she addressed reporters in Geneva via a video link from Bujumbura.

She said that more than 36,000 people had crossed the Rusizi river, near Rugombo, while another 6,000 had crossed directly to a transit centre close to the largest city Bujumbura.

"Last week on Tuesday, we had more than 9,000 people who crossed in one day," she said.

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"Everyone is overwhelmed: the government, but also the humanitarian actors in the country who are trying our best."

The agency said it was seeking $40.4 million to strengthen preparedness and deliver life-saving protection and assistance to 275,000 internally displaced people in the DRC's South Kivu, North Kivu, Maniema and Tanganyika provinces.