UNHCR slashes Burundi refugee figure from earlier 'guesstimate'

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday that 72,618 people have fled Burundi in recent weeks, cutting its estimate of how many had sought asylum in neighbouring countries by more than 30,000. The UNHCR had previously said 110,000 Burundians had fled to Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, where a cholera epidemic hit thousands taking refuge in the Kagunga peninsula.
"A head count of Burundian refugees in Kagunga and the reconciliation of numbers of people who relocated by boat and on foot has resulted in a substantial reduction of previously reported numbers of Burundian refugees in Tanzania which were based on guestimates provided by refugees in Kagunga," the UNHCR said. The head count was conducted on May 22 by local authorities and UN and other humanitarian agencies, and found 8,529 people on the Kagunga peninsula, a number that had fallen below 1,600 by Tuesday morning.