In Photos: The Young Refugees Forced to Flee Burundi's Violence

As a result of the violence and intimidation surrounding Burundi's controversial presidential elections, which took place amid gunfire and grenades on July 21, more than 165,000 people have now fled to neighbouring countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

In the over-crowded Nyarugusu refugee camp in western Tanzania alone, there are close to 80,000 Burundian refugees, with at least 60 percent of these thought to be children.

The number of separated, unaccompanied, and often traumatized young people arriving at the camp is also thought to have risen sharply from around 1,600 at the end of May, to more than 2,600 by July 19.

Watch the VICE News documentary, Violence and Protests on Polling Day: Burundi On The Brink (Dispatch 7):

Overall, around one fifth of Burundian refugees are thought to be infants aged under five, many whom are arriving with symptoms of malnutrition, anemia, malaria, diarrhea, and respiratory conditions.

"The psychological strain on refugees, especially children, is almost impossible to measure but we have seen that many children are now arriving in a much worse physical and mental state than a few weeks ago," said Lisa Parrott, interim country manager for Save the Children Tanzania.

Related: Fleeing to Rwanda: Burundi On The Brink (Dispatch 1)

"The children who have made it to the camp in the last week have walked for days on end with nothing but the clothes on their backs and little or no food. Some of these children have witnessed extreme violence and threats, either in their own homes in Burundi or along the way, and some have even seen their parents and other family members murdered by militia."

All photos by Tom Pilston/Save the Children

Save the Children is working with local partners to implement child protection and education programmes including three Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) and three Temporary Learning Spaces (TLS), which are expected to reach 1,200 children.