Refugees reluctant to go home
2008-12-01 22:33
Lusaka - Renewed fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in a decline in refugees wanting to be repatriated from neighbouring Zambia, the UN refugee agency said on Monday.
"Just before the fighting erupted in the Kivu region, the number of refugees registering for voluntary repatriation in the Mwange and Kala camps in northern Zambia had shown a significant increase," said James Lynch, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Zambia.
"But now, very few are coming forward to register and even some of those who register are opting out at the last minute," said Lynch.
Now the agency is preparing to receive new refugees if more people flee into Zambia as a result of latest conflict, he added.
About 9 000 Congolese refugees have left the Zambian camps to return home so far this year. UNHCR had originally planned to repatriate nearly 11 600 people this year.
Fighting in eastern DR Congo between followers of renegade Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda and the army has displaced more than 250 000 people and left more than 100 civilian dead, according to UN and private aid agencies.