Skip to main content
Home International Committee of the Red Cross
Find help Donate
Back
  • Happening now
    Happening now

    Discover what’s new

    Stay updated with the latest news and ongoing initiatives of the ICRC.

    Latest operations

    Featured

    • A community kitchen in Myanmar
      Myanmar: One month on, earthquake survivors face continuing challenges
    • Red Cross Field Hospital aerial shot
      The Red Cross Field Hospital one year on: A lifeline and a stark reminder in Ga…
    • Red Cross staff at a water distribution
      Every attack on a humanitarian is an attack on the community they served. A sta…
  • Who we are
    Who we are

    We are the International Committee of the Red Cross

    Neutral, impartial, and independent. Discover our values and mission.

    Discover who we are
    • About us
      Our rich history, our mandate and mission, and our Fundamental Principles are behind the work we do to protect and save lives.
    • How we are run
      Our President and leadership, our finances and our accountability ensure the integrity of our humanitarian operations.
    • International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement
      The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest humanitarian network in the world.
  • What we do
    What we do

    Our work to protect people affected by conflict

    The ICRC responds quickly and efficiently to help people affected by armed conflict.

    All our activities

    In focus

    • ICRC working with the Myanmar Red Cross Society to support people displaced by violence in Pin Laung and Hsi Hseng, to provide emergency aid. Photographer: Thang Khan Sian Khai
      Protection: Upholding the rights of people in conflict
    • Reconnecting families: Preventing separation, searching for the missing, reunit…
    • Helping detainees: Protecting and assisting people deprived of their liberty
  • Where we work
    Where we work

    Explore our global reach

    We have offices in over 90 countries around the world, providing assistance and protection to people affected by conflict.

    ICRC around the world

    Key operations

    • Afghanistan
    • Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • Ethiopia
    • Israel and the occupied territories
    • Myanmar
    • Sudan
    • Syria
    • Ukraine
    • Yemen
  • Law & Policy
    Law & Policy

    Law & Policy

    Gain insights into the ICRC's role in developing and promoting international humanitarian law and policy.

    Discover more
    • Geneva Conventions and the law
      Even wars have rules. The Geneva Conventions are at the core of international humanitarian law.
    • Topics, debates and disarmament
      Weapons and disarmament, protected persons and other contemporary challenges for international humanitarian law.
    • Teaching IHL, research, Advisory Service and other resources
      We support the teaching, learning and implementation of humanitarian law principles.
  • Support us
    Support us

    Partner with us

    We invite organizations, institutions and philanthropists to join us in our mission to alleviate the suffering of those affected by armed conflict.

    How to partner with us

    Support us

    Find out how you as an individual can contribute to our humanitarian efforts to help people suffering because of armed conflict.

    How to support us
    • Ukraine: the crisis continues
    • Urgent: Israel-Gaza emergency appeal
    • Myanmar_Red Cross earthquake
      Urgent help needed: Myanmar earthquakes
  • Find help
  • Donate
  • Events
  • Contact us
  • Report an incident of misconduct
  • Work with us
  • FAQ
ICRC Websites
Photo gallery
21-05-2015

Tanzania: Burundi refugees flood into Kagunga and Kigoma

  • Burundi
  • Rwanda
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Kenya
  • Protected persons: Internally displaced persons

Share

  • Share on X
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Facebook
CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Kamau

Kagunga, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

With an estimated 50,000 people in Kagunga, the main priority is to ease the congestion by transferring the refugees to Nyarugusu refugee camp in Kigoma where assistance can be more readily provided. The refugees are crowded at the shores waiting for their turn to be transported to Kigoma, a journey of three hours.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Kamau

Kagunga, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

Refugees on the shores of Kagunga climb into a boat with their few belongings. With no docking area at Kagunga, the boats are used to transfer people from the shore to the waiting ship.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Kamau

Kagunga, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

Women and children are ferried in a separate boat and are then located in a different area of the ship from the men. It is a difficult task boarding the vessel in the swell of Lake Tanganyika’s waters. However, trained lifesavers in each boat ensure that everyone arrives safely in Kigoma.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Kamau

Kagunga, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

A section of one of the two ships ferrying refugees to Kigoma. Each ship carries about 600 people per trip and makes two journeys a day, helping to ease the congestion at Kagunga. On board, medical personnel cater for any refugees who may need treatment while in transit.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Kamau

Kamau, Kigoma, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

A small girl arrives at Kigoma. Most people hold on to the few possessions they managed to take with them as they fled from Burundi.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Kamau

Kamau, Kigoma, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

On arrival at Kigoma, families are joyful and fill the air with songs as they disembark from the ship. They will soon board the buses that will take them to the transit point at Lake Tanganyika stadium where food, medical treatment and other humanitarian services await them.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Kamau

Kamau, Kigoma, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

A security officer screens the refugees shortly after their arrival from Kagunga. Security screening is mandatory to ensure the safety of both the refugees and the residents of Kigoma.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Kamau

Kamau, Kigoma, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

Whenever situations of violence occur, women and children bare the biggest brunt. There are many unaccompanied children in Kagunga, probably separated from their families as they fled. The ICRC in collaboration with the Tanzania Red Cross is helping to reunite families who become separated, as well as enabling them to get in touch with their relatives anywhere in the world through the phone call service at Nyarugusu refugee camp.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Kamau

Kamau, Kigoma, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

Male refugees wait for the security screening process to begin. The red tapes on their hands indicate that they have been registered by the UNHCR.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Kamau

Kamau, Kigoma, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

As some of the refugees arriving from Kagunga are very weak, medical personnel are on standby with an ambulance to receive them and ensure their safe transportation to Lake Tanganyika stadium, where they can be treated for illness or injury.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Kamau

Kamau, Kigoma, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

Women and children board one of several buses hired by the UNHCR to take them from Kigoma to Lake Tanganyika stadium.

CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Kamau

Kamau, Kigoma, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

A child eats his first meal at Lake Tanganyika stadium after arriving from Kagunga the previous night. The stadium acts as the transit point to facilitate screening of all the refugees before their relocation to Nyarugusu refugee camp.

Kamau, Kigoma, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

Kamau, Kigoma, Tanzania, 17 May 2015

Fifty Tanzania Red Cross volunteers have been trained to provide first aid in Kagunga and at the transit centre at Lake Tanganyika stadium. Here they are preparing to evacuate a patient from the transit centre.

Following the pre-election tension in Burundi, Burundian nationals began fleeing to Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To date, the UNHCR has put the number of refugees who have sought asylum in neighbouring countries at over 112,000, of which those fleeing to Tanzania number over 70,000.

In Tanzania the humanitarian situation in Kagunga and Kigoma is dire, with some 50,000 refugees awaiting transportation to Nyarugusu refugee camp. The ICRC is working closely with the Tanzania Red Cross Society (TRCS) on the humanitarian situation in Kagunga and at Nyarugusu refugee camp. Services such as restoring contact with separated family members (restoring family links) are already being provided at Nyarugusu for the new arrivals, while the TRCS is providing first aid in Kagunga and at the transit point at Lake Tanganyika stadium. Red Cross volunteers are also focusing on hygiene with the aim of containing the cholera outbreak.

 

Related articles

Des équipes chirurgicales débordées
Photo gallery
17-03-2025

DRC: Goma surgical teams overwhelmed

The ICRC works with the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) to deliver assistance to remote areas.
Photo gallery
15-01-2025

Myanmar: The year 2024 in pictures

The ICRC team pitcured with community of Gulbahar, Kapisa
Photo gallery
31-12-2024

Afghanistan: A year of responding to numerous humanitarian challenges

More photo galleries

Topic-dedicated ICRC websites

Explore our blogs, apps, reviews and other resources dedicated to humanitarian impact, insight, law and policy.

ICRC Websites

Direct access

  • Find help
  • Donate
  • Events
  • Contact us
  • Report an incident of misconduct
  • Work with us
  • FAQ

Newsletter

Fields marked with * are required
To learn how we process your data, visit our Privacy Notice.
  • Accessibility
  • Copyright
  • Privacy policy
  • Tax deduction
  • Privacy Settings
  • Community guidelines

Terms and conditions - ICRC ©2025 - All right reserved