The conflict is a regional crisis. The renewed violence in Rwanda. which we thought was behind us. is spilling over into Burundi. Zaire and Tanzania. which are flooded with refugees. Recently. 70.000 Rwandan refugees and displaced Burundi civilians fled to the borders of Tanzania. Tanzania. already overwhelmed with refugees and displaced persons. closed its borders. Because of the international communitys tenuous support. the Tanzanian Government feels it cannot handle the new influx of refugees without more help. Ngara. across the border from Tanzania. is now home to 450.000 refugees. more than double the local Tanzanian population. These camps area a humanitarian nightmare. with disease. massacres and riots a constant threat. Delays of aid by some donor countries are causing refugee unrest and accusations that the reduced rations are part of a conspiracy by the United Nations and other relief organizations. This type of paranoia is fueling the hardiiners efforts to spread fear and destabilize the country. Even the Central African governments are becoming impatient with the donor community. Citing last years failure of the international community to stop the Rwandan genocide. some have suggested scaling back the U.N. presence in Rwanda. Millions of Central Africans displaced by the violence depend on this assistance. The recent seizure of World Food Program trucks headed for Rwandan refugee camps in Burundi illustrate how serious the situation has become. Despite the sickening brutality. the situation in Burundi is not hopeless. Although little public attention has been given to the frightening developments there. the administration and many humanitarian groups are working to encourage preventive measures to deter another calamity.
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refugees refugee