In Burundi, Congolese refugees fear starvation, violence as aid cuts bite

Claude says he is afraid he will soon be dead -- either from starvation or violence -- as he waits at a food tent in a camp in Burundi.

He is one of thousands of Congolese refugees caught between a brutal war over the border and drastic cuts to international food aid.

A former bouncer in a bar in the Congolese town of Uvira, Claude said he fled as violence erupted in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), triggered by the Rwanda-backed M23's rapid advance through the region.

Armed men "were shooting, killing each other... raping women", said the 25-year-old. He fled across the border to Burundi in February.

But now he faces a new threat as he watches food rations dwindle in the overcrowded camp in Musenyi.

Hunger is breeding violence, and he has joined a group of volunteers who patrol the camp to stop people stealing the little food available.

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"When I arrived here, I was given 3.5 kilograms of rice per month. Now it's a kilo. The 3 kilograms of peas have dropped to 1.8 kilograms. What I get in tomato sauce lasts one day, then it's over," said Claude, whose name has been changed for security reasons, along with other refugees interviewed by AFP.

The most desperate now slash their neighbours' tents to steal food, he said, while thugs "spread terror".

"The reduction of assistance will lead to many crimes," he added.

Bad timing 

Elsewhere in the camp, a drunk man with a missing finger explodes with rage after missing a food handout.

Children openly complain of hunger.

Oscar Niyibizi, the camp's deputy administrator, said the cut in food rations was a "major challenge" that could "cause security disruption".

He encourages refugees to empower themselves by growing their own food on nearby land but says outside assistance is desperately needed.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has slashed its aid budget by 80 percent and other Western nations are also curbing donations, forcing NGOs and UN agencies to close or substantially reduce many programmes.

The cuts came at a "very bad time", as the fighting intensified in the DRC, said Geoffrey Kirenga, head of mission for Save the Children in Burundi.

More than 71,000 Congolese have fled to the tiny landlocked nation since January -- a difficult challenge for one of the world's poorest countries, already dealing with thousands of refugees from earlier conflicts.

The Musenyi camp was established last year for 10,000 people but its population is already nearly double the figure.

'Deaths from hunger' 

As well as losing food aid, the aid cuts have forced NGOs to axe support for victims of sexual violence, of which there are many in the camp, said Kirenga.

But he mostly worries that "deaths from hunger" are coming.

Caroline, 26, a mother of four children, said many could be forced to turn to prostitution to feed their families.

The World Food Programme said it has cut rations in half since March. Without renewed US funding, it will have to stop all assistance by November.

In a community tent where dozens of people are crammed, Judith told of her flight from Uvira with her eight children after gunfire killed and wounded some of her neighbours.

"We all sleep here," she said, pointing to an area of just a few square metres.

Hidden behind a curtain: two bags of rice, two bags of beans and two jugs of cooking oil.

But "the little we receive does not last until the next distribution," she said.

According to the UN, hundreds of Congolese are forced to return across the border in search of food, despite the risks.

Judith said she would not return to the DRC.

"I’d rather live in a foreign country... where I don't hear gunshots," she said.