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Botswana zips up Zim aliens
25/07/2003 09:21 - (SA)
Gaborone - Botswana has stepped up border patrols along its border with Zimbabwe in a bid to stem an influx of illegal immigrants, a senior immigration official said on Thursday.
"We have recently started joint border patrols," said immigration officer Oliver Toteng.
"We are repatriating at least 2 500 illegal Zimbabweans a month," Toteng said, but added: "The people that we send back home, come back immediately after repatriation."
The government has already expressed concern that the repatriation exercise was likely to cost more than a million dollars this year.
It built a holding centre in the northern city of Francistown after concern that illegal Zimbawean immigrants were swamping Botswana's prisons while awaiting repatriation.
- AFP
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