Around 2,500 Burundian members of a Catholic sect have fled the Democratic Republic of Congo for Rwanda, the news agency AFP reports.
The migrants, who follow the teachings of a female prophet called Zebiya, left Burundi claiming religious persecution.
They had been receiving aid from the United Nations but this ended in January when the group refused to register on a biometric database, which they said was in violation of their religion.
Speaking to AFP, one of the migrants, Dionyse Nyandwi, said the group had been “living under threat from our Congolese neighbours and we feared being extradited to Burundi”.
He added that UN peacekeepers had escorted them to Rwanda where they hoped for a happier stay.
Thousands of Burundians fled to the DR Congo following months of violent political unrest in Burundi.
