Nearly 600 Burundian refugees head home as mass repatriation starts

Burundian refugees sit on their belongings at the Lake Tanganyika stadium in Kigoma western Tanzania, May 19, 2015. PHOTO | REUTERS

Nearly 600 refugees left Tanzania to return to their homes in neighbouring Burundi on Thursday, the United Nations said - the first batch in a mass repatriation that some migrants fear could force them back against their will.

Hundreds of thousands of Burundians fled a surge of political violence in 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a third disputed term in office and opponents accused him of breaching the constitution.