What is "nyarugusu"

Nyarugusu refugee camp is, with around 150,000 refugees, one of the largest and also one of the best-known refugee camps of the 21st century. It is located in the western province of Kigoma, in Tanzania, and lies about 150 km from Lake Tanganyika.

It was created by the UNHCR and the Tanzanian government in 1996/1997 after an estimated 150,000 Congolese refugees from the eastern Sud-Kivu region of the DRC crossed the border, by crossing Lake Tanganyika, into the western region of Tanzania, escaping civil war. Until the riots and civil war like situation in Burundi began the population of the camp was actually reducing. But since over 110,000 Burundians arrived in Tanzania and were split between Nyarugusu (65,000) and two other camps: Nduta (55,000) and Mtendeli (19,000). More refugees are arriving in their hundreds every day.