U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA) BURUNDI - Complex Emergency -------- Overview -------- On October 21, 1993, military personnel killed President Melchoir Ndadaye -- Burundi's first democratically- elected president -- and several high-ranking government officials in a coup attempt in the capital, Bujumbura. Ndadaye's assassination sparked nationwide ethnic violence between the minority Tutsi and the majority Hutu ethnic groups. The northern and central provinces were hit the hardest by the violence and disorder. On January 13, 1994, the National Assembly elected Cyprien Ntaryamira as Burundi's new president. President Ntaryamira and the president of Rwanda, Juvenal Habyarimana, were killed in a plane crash in Kigali on April 6, 1994, as they returned from a regional summit to explore solutions to end the violence that has occurred in Rwanda and Burundi over the years. In September 1994, after lengthy negotiations, the major political parties entered into a power-sharing convention; one month later, Sylvestre Ntibantunganya was chosen to succeed Ntaryamira. Although a new government has been in place since October 1994, political and ethnic tensions remain high, and acts of violence continue with alarming frequency. Insecurity has spread to 14 of Burundi's 15 provinces, producing newly displaced populations as people are forced to flee from their homes and communes. Only Cankuzo Province in northeastern Burundi has not experienced the recent violence. The insecurity and fighting in the northwestern region have created a veritable war zone in the area and generated significant emergency humanitarian needs. Burundi has a population of 5.6 million people, of which approximately 85% are Hutu, 14% are Tutsi, and 1% are Twa. Despite their minority status, the Tutsi traditionally have dominated the government, military, economy, and educated society. Since the democratic election of 1993, Burundi's three presidents have been members of the majority (predominantly Hutu) FRODEBU party. The current prime minister, Antoine Nduwayo, is from the (predominantly Tutsi) UPRONA party. The military remains primarily Tutsi, particularly at the higher ranks. ---------------- Numbers Affected ---------------- In the violence that followed October 21, 1993, 50,000-100,000 people were killed, thousands were wounded, and approximately 1 million persons were displaced from their homes in Burundi. Over 600,000 Burundians fled to neighboring countries, but the majority have returned over the last two years. The ongoing violence and insecurity, however, have generated newly displaced and refugee populations. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that as of May 8, 1996, approximately 206,997 Burundian refugees are in neighboring countries: 3,260 in Rwanda; 94,618 in Tanzania; and 109,119 in Zaire. An additional 150,000 Burundians remain in Tanzania from bouts of inter-ethnic violence prior to 1990. Approximately 300,000 persons have been internally displaced throughout Burundi in 1996, 100,000 of whom were displaced in the last two months. Many of the displaced, however, returned to their homes within a few weeks to farm. UNHCR also estimates that approximately 90,000 Rwandan refugees remain in northern Burundi after fleeing the violence that erupted in Rwanda following the events of April 6, 1994. ------------------------------------------------------------- Total U.S. Government (USG) Humanitarian Assistance (FYs 1994, 1995 and 1996) $100,402,478 ------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------- Current Situation ----------------- Since March, violence in Burundi has escalated to its highest level in many months. It has spread across virtually the entire country, affecting provinces which previously had been quiet, causing more than 1,000 deaths, and creating a steady movement of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). In early March, Hutu insurgents belonging to the Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD), the military arm of Leonard Nyangoma's National Council for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD), launched a new offensive running along a diagonal line from Kirundo Province in northeastern Burundi to Makamba Province in southwestern Burundi. The spread of the insurgency brought violence to southern Burundi, which had been quiet since 1972. Civilians have borne the brunt of the violence in a pattern of fighting in which the Hutu insurgents and the Tutsi-dominated military regularly kill civilians in reprisal for attacks by the other. The U.N. estimates that more than 450 people were killed in 48 separate incidents between April 3 and April 25. After the start of the new offensive, at least 100,000 people fled their homes, becoming either refugees or IDPs. However, many have returned home for the harvest season. According to humanitarian organizations, more than 375 people -- mostly Hutu -- were massacred on May 3 in Kivyuka, Bubanza Province. The Burundian army says that it is investigating the massacre. On April 26, troops in Burundi's army allegedly killed 235 Hutu civilians in Buhoro, a town 12 miles north of Gitega. The attack apparently was in reprisal for an earlier raid by Hutu insurgents. The army initially denied the allegations but recently modified its official statements following an investigation ordered by the Burundi National Security Council and carried out by three army officials and a civilian. The report claims that 118 people were killed, probably by Hutu insurgents or refugees. Most of the victims of the attack reportedly were displaced Hutus from other areas who had fled their homes to seek refuge at Buhoro. Elsewhere in Gitega Province, insecurity escalated during April. In Gitanga commune, insurgents allegedly destroyed the cooperative bank and commune offices and damaged the health center. Nearly the entire commune population was displaced as a result of the attack. In separate incidents, a FRODEBU member and two provincial officials were killed, prompting the governor of Gitega to flee to Bujumbura. Fighting also has spilled into previously calm provinces and now threatens 14 of Burundi's 15 provinces. On March 21, fighting erupted in southern Burundi's Bururi Province, an important regional center. The outbreak in Bururi is politically significant because it is the home of Prime Minister Antoine Nduwayo, former president and Tutsi extremist leader Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, CNDD leader Leonard Nyangoma, and a number of the Tutsi military commanders. Makamba, another southern province, also suffered from recent violence when 200 Hutu insurgents raided an Medicins Sans Frontieres/France (MSF/F) hospital in April. Four people were killed in the assault; the hospital was looted; and an ambulance was burned. Bujumbura is increasingly insecure, and humanitarian organizations are among the targets of attackers. In April, 20 incidents of armed robberies, death threats, carjackings, and other violence involving international aid agencies' staffs were reported in Bujumbura. Relief workers have been threatened for reporting or speaking out against atrocities committed by both sides in the conflict. Ambushes and landmines on National Routes 1 and 7 leading out of Bujumbura also have been preventing international relief agencies from reaching populations they are trying to serve. In an attempt to cut off the Tutsi-dominated capital city, Hutu insurgents recently mined sections of National Route 1 linking Bujumbura to Gitega and Ngozi. The army subsequently closed National Route 1 on April 29-30 after mines were found on the section between Bujumbura and Muramvya. ---------------------------- Political/Military Situation ---------------------------- U.N. Security Council Resolution 1049, adopted March 5, called upon all parties to Burundi's conflict to engage in "serious negotiations and mutual accommodation within the framework of the National Debate agreed upon by the signatories to the Convention and to increase efforts toward national reconciliation." Julius Nyerere, the former Tanzanian head of state, hosted talks between leaders of UPRONA and FRODEBU in Mwanza, Tanzania from April 22- 25. The talks attempted to reach agreement from both parties for negotiations between the Government of the Republic of Burundi (GRB) and the Hutu insurgents. Although UPRONA has refused to negotiate with CNDD (the primary insurgent organization), UPRONA and FRODEBU agreed to meet again in Mwanza on May 22 to continue discussions between themselves. United Nations Secretary General (UNSYG) Boutros Boutros-Ghali appealed to U.N. member states again on May 7 to develop contingency plans for a standby force to intervene for humanitarian purposes should violence in Burundi escalate. An inter-agency team from the USG discussed contingency planning with the U.N. on May 10. The USG said on May 13 that it would assist with logistics, communications, and transport needs but would not provide troops. U.S. National Security Advisor, Anthony Lake, paid a one-day visit to Burundi on May 14. Lake held talks with President Ntibantunganya, Prime Minister Nduwayo, and leaders of the Burundian military, and he reiterated a message to warring factions that the USG would not recognize any government that comes to power through a coup. The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, John Shattuck, visited Burundi on May 11-12 to deliver the same message. Shattuck also insisted that U.N. human rights monitors be given full access to Kivyuka to investigate the alleged recent massacre. On May 7, the USG sent the USG/Special Coordinator for Rwanda and Burundi, Richard Bogosian, to investigate reports of the Buhoro massacre. The U.N. also sent a five-member team to investigate the massacre and to monitor other human rights violations. Following the army's April 23 admission of human rights abuses by some of its soldiers, it agreed to give the U.N. team access to 400 soldiers' files. >From April 1-3, USAID Admininstrator Brian Atwood and European Community Humanitarian Office Commissioner Emma Bonino visited Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanzania. In Burundi, Atwood and Bonino showed support for the country's moderate leaders, and sent a unified message calling on all parties to the Burundi conflict to commit to national dialogue and reconciliation. Atwood and Bonino also reminded the parties that Burundi's current security situation precludes delivery of development assistance. Humanitarian aid to Burundi will continue. President Ntibantunganya addressed the country on April 25, outlining measures the GRB plans to take to combat violence. The president announced an increase in the number of military troops and the establishment of a national police structure, which will be civilian in nature and deployed to all communes throughout the country. Following Ntibantunganya's announcement, Prime Minister Nduwayo called for the creation of civilian defense units ("people's self-defense units") to protect Burundians from attacks by Hutu insurgents. Recent statements such as these reflect the widening chasm between the president and prime minister. In late April, Charles Mukasi, the UPRONA chairman, requested that UNSYG Boutros Boutros- Ghali recall Marc Faguy, the UNSYG's Special Representative, from Burundi. Mr. Mukasi complained that Mr. Faguy was making "negative reports" about Burundi. The UNSYG responded that Mr. Faguy would stay as long as the GRB wished. -------------- Relief Efforts -------------- UNHCR reports that 1,200 Burundian refugees per day are pouring into Zaire and Tanzania. In the period between April 29 - May 17, UNHCR estimates that 23,000 Burundian refugees crossed into Uvira, Zaire; during roughly the same period, 1,600 refugees crossed into Tanzania. From Cibitoke Province alone, 2,000 refugees arrived at Luvungi in eastern Zaire over a two-day period. These refugees left Cibitoke following an attack on a military camp in Cibitoke town, and they constitute the largest flow into Zaire since February. They are being directed to a camp at Luberizi where already prepared facilities exist. After shootings and explosions disturbed Gitega town and province, the World Food Programme (WFP) evacuated its entire 16-person staff from the Gitega office on April 17. Several other relief agencies evacuated Gitega prior to WFP; the International Committe of the Red Cross (ICRC) followed on April 19 after two grenades exploded near its compound. WFP resumed operations in Gitega on May 2, and ICRC is planning to return to Gitega once a new governor is installed in the province. Following the ambush last June of an Action Contre la Faim/France (ACF/F) convoy, travel overland virtually was suspended. To restore relief activities in the interior and to ensure the safety of NGO and U.N. personnel, WFP provided a small aircraft that flies regularly to Gitega, Ngozi, and Kirundo provinces. WFP funded the plane from July - November 1995 and then began to seek donor funding. BHR/OFDA provided a grant in December 1995 to fund the plane through mid-June 1995. In early May, BHR/OFDA provided additional funds to extend its grant to WFP through October 13. -------------- USG Assistance -------------- The USG has coordinated its relief efforts with the international donor community to respond to the needs of conflict victims in Burundi. Since the crisis began on October 21, 1993, the USG has contributed over $100 million in humanitarian assistance to Burundi. On October 16, 1995, U.S. Ambassador Robert Krueger redeclared a disaster for Burundi for FY 1996. In FY 1994 and FY 1995, BHR/OFDA channeled over $13 million through NGOs, international organizations, and U.N. agencies operating programs in northern and central Burundi. BHR/OFDA has funded projects through these implementing agencies to provide emergency food and non-food commodities, shelter, and health services to the Burundian IDP populations and war-affected. In FY 1994 and FY 1995, BHR/FFP provided 92,850 MT of Title II emergency food commodities worth over $67 million to Burundi. It also provided an additional 236,550 MT of food commodities worth nearly $127.4 million to the Rwanda regional crisis. For FY 1996, BHR/FFP has programmed an additional $101.5 million worth of commodities for the Rwanda regional crisis; this assistance benefits displaced persons and refugees in Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire, Uganda, and Tanzania. USG FY 1996 Humanitarian Assistance: BHR/OFDA Assistance Grant amendment to International Medical Corps for emergency medical intervention in Muyinga Province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $587,401 Grant to WFP for operating costs of a small plane for relief workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $397,700 Grant to WFP for food distribution support costs . . $171,924 Total FY 1996 BHR/OFDA Assistance. . . . . . . . . . .$1,157,025 BHR/FFP Assistance (Note: Given the regional nature of the Rwanda crisis, food assistance is targeted to Rwanda and the surrounding countries-- Burundi, Tanzania, Zaire, and Uganda. For regional assistance figures see BHR/OFDA "Rwanda - Civil Strife/Displaced Persons" situation report. In FY 1996, BHR/FFP has contributed to WFP 165,000 MT of P.L. 480 emergency Title II commodities worth $101,495,500. This assists refugees and displaced persons in the Rwanda/Burundi region.) State/PRM Assistance (Note: Given the regional nature of the Rwanda crisis, refugee assistance is targeted to Rwanda and the surrounding countries-- Burundi, Tanzania, Zaire, and Uganda. For regional assistance figures see BHR/OFDA "Rwanda - Civil Strife/Displaced Persons" situation report. In FY 1996, State/PRM has contributed $30 million to UNHCR for the Rwanda/Burundi Special Appeal. This assists refugees and displaced persons in the Rwanda/Burundi region. State/PRM also contributed $13 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies General Africa Appeal. A portion of this will be used for Burundi.) Total USG FY 1996 Humanitarian Assistance: . . . . . $1,157,025 USG FY 1995 Humanitarian Assistance: BHR/OFDA Assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,923,924 BHR/FFP Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$26,747,400 Total USG FY 1995 Humanitarian Assistance . . . . . .$32,671,324 USG FY 1994 Humanitarian Assistance: USAID/BHR/OFDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,081,586 USAID/BHR/FFP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$40,302,100 USAID/AF/EA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $798,743 USDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$8,928,00 DOD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,961,000 State/PRM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,502,700 Total USG FY 1994 Humanitarian Assistance . . . . . . $66,574,129 Total USG Humanitarian Assistance to Burundi (FYs 1994, 1995 and 1996) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,402,478