Over 90 Burundians have been deported after having illegally migrated to Rwanda and settled in Nyanza district, Southern Province.

According to Abdullah Murenzi, the Nyanza District Mayor, the illegal migrants were rounded up during a security operation that was carried out recently.

"For the past few weeks, we have embarked on an operation aimed at cracking down on these people who are illegally residing in our district, and most of them were from neighboring Burundi,” said Murenzi.

According to the district officials, most of the illegal migrants were from Kirundo Province in southern Burundi, a region recently reported to have been hit by severe famine.
"They all say they fled hunger and said that they come in search of food, but then they lack proper documentation. Actually most of them had obtained jobs,” said the mayor.
Speaking to The New Times, Fidele Ndayisaba said that the deportation of these Burundian nationals should not harm the bilateral relations between the two countries.

He revealed that soon district authorities would meet soon with their counterparts in Kirundo to discuss the issue at length.

"We have been having talks with the Kirundo Governor on phone trying to organize a joint meeting that will be aimed at discussing how the matter should not affect our relationship,” said Ndayisaba.

According to the district authorities, there are plans to make free movement of goods between the two sides in order fight poverty among the residents. 

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