APA-Lilongwe (Malawi) Some 108 Burundian refugees have volunteered to return home following negotiations between the Malawian government, Burundi government and the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Addressing journalists in Lilongwe late Monday, Malawi Ministry of Homeland Security spokesperson Patrick Botha said the 108 Burundian refugees living at Dzaleka Refugee Camp are scheduled to be repatriated back to their home country on Thursday this week.
“I can confirm that 108 refugees of Burundian nationality are set to leave for Bujumbura, Burundi, on October 5 through a process called repatriation, which is the best solution in refugees’ management,” Botha said.
He said he was looking forward for more refugees to come forward and request voluntary repatriation since most of their countries are now conflict-free.
The first group of refugees left Malawi on voluntary repatriation in June following a campaign by the Malawian authorities forcing refugees living outside Dzaleka to return to the camp.
According to the UNHCR, Dzaleka Refugee Camp near the capital Lilongwe now has about 56,000 refugees against a holding capacity of 10,000.
The bulk of the refugees are from the Democratic Republic of Congo while the remainder are from Burundi, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Somalia.
JN/APA