round 2,000 Rwandan Hutu refugees have arrived in Burundi in the past month, many saying they feel insecure in Rwanda or are being refused permission to cultivate their land, the United Nations said on Thursday.

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The arrivals put the number of Rwandans seeking asylum in Burundi at nearly 8,000, the U.N. said. Years of conflict in the central African countries of Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo have forced hundreds of thousands of civilians to cross borders in search of safety.

In June last year, thousands of Rwandan Hutus returned home from Burundi, where they had fled in fear of persecution after the 1994 genocide. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said theyhad been forcibly repatriated by Burundi, in violation of international humanitarian law.

Some refugees feel insecure in Rwanda, while others say they are refused permission to cultivate, the U.N.. said.

"We estimate 2,000 Rwandans have arrived since December," Didier Bukuru, a spokesman for UNHCR told Reuters.

The refugees, many women and children, accuse the Tutsi-led government in Rwanda of unjust treatment at village courts, which have been trying people suspected of the genocide in which 800,000 were killed.

They also claim they face threats from Tutsi genocide survivors.

A joint commission between the UNHCR and Burundi's government, has been set up to review each case and decide which asylum seekers are legitimate.