20,000 Congo Refugees Follow UPDF
May 21, 2003
About 20,000 Congolese refugees fleeing ethnic fighting in Ituri region are in Nebbi district following the withdrawal of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). The refugees are in dire need of food, shelter and drugs.
By Felix Osike
About 20,000 Congolese refugees fleeing ethnic fighting in Ituri region are in Nebbi district following the withdrawal of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). The refugees are in dire need of food, shelter and drugs.
District officials said aid agencies had not provided emergency services to the refugees, some of whom have been advised to live with their Ugandan relatives.
The ethnic fighting which pits the Lendu against the Hema militias in northeastern DRC has led to the death of hundreds of people and displaced thousands, mainly the Hema.
Wounded survivors, some of them nursing machete wounds, told the New Vision at Mahagi that they were afraid of indiscriminate killings in the area.
“We have lost all our property and we don’t know how we are going to survive,†said Adija Bamanyisa, 40, a Hema who fled Bunia.
She said they were feeding on cassava leaves (tshombe) since fighting erupted in Bunia last month between the rival militia forces.
Nebbi RDC Peter Odok Ocheng said 15,000 refugees had registered in Paidha. The others are scattered all over the district.
There is no refugee transit camp in Nebbi. Refugees who have no relatives in Uganda are being taken to camps in Arua district.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees officials were expected at the Goli border post where about 2,000 Hema refugees crossed with the soldiers.
They fed on the UPDF dry ration. Some of the refugees are at a primary school compound near Goli, awaiting relocation.
“We are appealing to international organisations for food, shelter and drugs. The UNHCR should help us. We are not sure of the refugees health and anytime, diseases might break out,†Ocheng said.
He said an effective peacekeeping force should be deployed in Ituri to restore peace and enable refugees to return home.
The International Committee of the Red Cross officials last week distributed blankets to the refugees but the number is increasing daily.
Former Mahagi Sector Commander Lt. Col. Mawa Muhindo said it was unfortunate the killings had escalated after the withdrawal of the UPDF.
“We appeal to the UN to intervene immediately to ensure that ethnic killing stops,†he said.
Meanwhile, John Thawite reports that about 200 Congolese women refugees claiming to be wives of UPDF soldiers who recently returned from Ituri region, are stranded in Bundibugyo district.
The Uganda Red Cross, Bundibugyo branch chairman, the Rev. Thomas Kamuhanda, on Friday said 155 refugees had been registered at Karugutu trading centre, Ntoroko county.
Some women had taken to sleeping under trees and on verandahs while others, cooking the last of the beans they claimed to have received from the UPDF rations, had children ranging between a month and one year.
Buwuma and two others, Pacutu Roza and Rozina Esperazi, said they had travelled with their husbands from Ituri until they crossed River Semliki, at the Uganda-DR Congo border.
“Our husbands told us they were going for some work somewhere. Our friends left here a few days ago to look for their husbands in those places near the river,†they said pointing towards Ntoroko, Rwebisengo, Kamuga and Budiba near Lake Albert.
A military official attached to the Rwenzori Alpine Brigade, dismissed the claims, saying the women were desperate because they had not received any help.
Ends
About 20,000 Congolese refugees fleeing ethnic fighting in Ituri region are in Nebbi district following the withdrawal of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). The refugees are in dire need of food, shelter and drugs.
District officials said aid agencies had not provided emergency services to the refugees, some of whom have been advised to live with their Ugandan relatives.
The ethnic fighting which pits the Lendu against the Hema militias in northeastern DRC has led to the death of hundreds of people and displaced thousands, mainly the Hema.
Wounded survivors, some of them nursing machete wounds, told the New Vision at Mahagi that they were afraid of indiscriminate killings in the area.
“We have lost all our property and we don’t know how we are going to survive,†said Adija Bamanyisa, 40, a Hema who fled Bunia.
She said they were feeding on cassava leaves (tshombe) since fighting erupted in Bunia last month between the rival militia forces.
Nebbi RDC Peter Odok Ocheng said 15,000 refugees had registered in Paidha. The others are scattered all over the district.
There is no refugee transit camp in Nebbi. Refugees who have no relatives in Uganda are being taken to camps in Arua district.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees officials were expected at the Goli border post where about 2,000 Hema refugees crossed with the soldiers.
They fed on the UPDF dry ration. Some of the refugees are at a primary school compound near Goli, awaiting relocation.
“We are appealing to international organisations for food, shelter and drugs. The UNHCR should help us. We are not sure of the refugees health and anytime, diseases might break out,†Ocheng said.
He said an effective peacekeeping force should be deployed in Ituri to restore peace and enable refugees to return home.
The International Committee of the Red Cross officials last week distributed blankets to the refugees but the number is increasing daily.
Former Mahagi Sector Commander Lt. Col. Mawa Muhindo said it was unfortunate the killings had escalated after the withdrawal of the UPDF.
“We appeal to the UN to intervene immediately to ensure that ethnic killing stops,†he said.
Meanwhile, John Thawite reports that about 200 Congolese women refugees claiming to be wives of UPDF soldiers who recently returned from Ituri region, are stranded in Bundibugyo district.
The Uganda Red Cross, Bundibugyo branch chairman, the Rev. Thomas Kamuhanda, on Friday said 155 refugees had been registered at Karugutu trading centre, Ntoroko county.
Some women had taken to sleeping under trees and on verandahs while others, cooking the last of the beans they claimed to have received from the UPDF rations, had children ranging between a month and one year.
Buwuma and two others, Pacutu Roza and Rozina Esperazi, said they had travelled with their husbands from Ituri until they crossed River Semliki, at the Uganda-DR Congo border.
“Our husbands told us they were going for some work somewhere. Our friends left here a few days ago to look for their husbands in those places near the river,†they said pointing towards Ntoroko, Rwebisengo, Kamuga and Budiba near Lake Albert.
A military official attached to the Rwenzori Alpine Brigade, dismissed the claims, saying the women were desperate because they had not received any help.
Ends