More than 40,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have crossed into Uganda since January, the United Nations reported Tuesday.
The mass displacement follows a fresh wave of violence in eastern DRC, where the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group has seized large territories, including key regional centers.
According to the UN, the ongoing clashes have killed around 900 people, though Congolese authorities claim the toll is significantly higher.
“Over 41,000 Congolese have sought safety in Uganda, pushing the total number of Congolese refugees here to nearly 600,000,” said UNHCR’s Uganda representative, Matthew Crentsil.
Uganda, already sheltering 1.8 million refugees, has also received 70,000 fleeing Sudan’s civil war, further compounding the strain on resources.
With 600 new arrivals daily in recent weeks, transit and reception centers are overwhelmed, housing refugees in kitchens and registration areas.
Crentsil warned that water, latrines, and bathing facilities are critically lacking, raising the threat of disease as the rainy season approaches.
Nyakabande transit center, built for 7,000 people, now shelters over 42,000—six times its intended capacity.
The crisis is exacerbated by severe US aid cuts that have slashed funding for humanitarian operations across Uganda, including layoffs of 250 health workers.
Under the Trump administration, USAID saw major reductions, despite previously providing 42 percent of global aid funding.
Crentsil said the funding shortfall has forced UNHCR to cut protection services and focus only on the most urgent needs.
Last month, the UNHCR reported over 100,000 displaced by violence in the DRC, many fleeing to neighboring countries like Uganda and Burundi.
In Burundi, authorities shut down a transit center housing 45,000 refugees, with officials calling conditions “untenable.”