More DRC refugees come into Uganda
Nov 01, 2008
HUNDREDS of Congolese refugees fleeing the latest wave of clashes in the eastern DR Congo continued pouring into Uganda on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, drawing concerns from aid agencies.
By Steven Candia
and Agencies
HUNDREDS of Congolese refugees fleeing the latest wave of clashes in the eastern DR Congo continued pouring into Uganda on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, drawing concerns from aid agencies.
The agencies said on Thursday that about 2,000 refugees had in the last two days settled in Kisoro and at the Nyabushenyi border post with the DR Congo, fleeing the fighting between Congolese forces of FARDC, MONUC and rebel forces of Laurent Nkunda.
The influx of the refugees has raised fears of outbreaks of diseases in the area, prompting aid agencies to think about contingency plans.
“We are thinking of a vaccination exercise to avert an outbreak of disease in the area,†the UN High Commissioner for Refugees publicist, Roberta Russo, said.
The refugees, many of them from Rugarama, had opted to settle in Kisoro other than at the Nakivale refugee settlement in Isingiri district.
The refugees’ option not to stay at the settlement, Russo said, would complicate the provision of humanitarian assistance.
By Wednesday, the refugees said, Rugarama had fallen into the hands of Laurent Nkunda’s the National Congress for the Defence of the People rebels.
The UN’s largest peacekeeping mission, MONUC, stepped up an intervention in the conflict as tens of thousands of civilians were displaced.
The clashes centred on Kibumba, about 30km north of Goma, where the UN aircraft fired on rebel positions, stalling their advance on the regional capital.
A total of 2,000 refugees have since August moved into the refugee settlement, with 500 of the immigrants relocating last week alone.
and Agencies
HUNDREDS of Congolese refugees fleeing the latest wave of clashes in the eastern DR Congo continued pouring into Uganda on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, drawing concerns from aid agencies.
The agencies said on Thursday that about 2,000 refugees had in the last two days settled in Kisoro and at the Nyabushenyi border post with the DR Congo, fleeing the fighting between Congolese forces of FARDC, MONUC and rebel forces of Laurent Nkunda.
The influx of the refugees has raised fears of outbreaks of diseases in the area, prompting aid agencies to think about contingency plans.
“We are thinking of a vaccination exercise to avert an outbreak of disease in the area,†the UN High Commissioner for Refugees publicist, Roberta Russo, said.
The refugees, many of them from Rugarama, had opted to settle in Kisoro other than at the Nakivale refugee settlement in Isingiri district.
The refugees’ option not to stay at the settlement, Russo said, would complicate the provision of humanitarian assistance.
By Wednesday, the refugees said, Rugarama had fallen into the hands of Laurent Nkunda’s the National Congress for the Defence of the People rebels.
The UN’s largest peacekeeping mission, MONUC, stepped up an intervention in the conflict as tens of thousands of civilians were displaced.
The clashes centred on Kibumba, about 30km north of Goma, where the UN aircraft fired on rebel positions, stalling their advance on the regional capital.
A total of 2,000 refugees have since August moved into the refugee settlement, with 500 of the immigrants relocating last week alone.