4,000 refugees to be resettled
Humanitarian. Part of Rwamwanja Refugee Camp in Kamwenge District. PHOTO BY FEDNAND TUHAME
What you need to know:
- More than 75 per cent of the DRC refugees are hosted by neighbouring countries in the Great Lakes region and Southern Africa, the Republic of the Congo (31,936), Uganda (154,262), Tanzania (64,659), Rwanda (73,041), Burundi (45,124), Zambia (14,784) and Malawi (2,558).
Kamwenge. Due to insecurity in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities in Kamwenge District, have continued to register more refugees settling at Rwamwanja camp.
The camp has been host to hundreds of Congolese refugees since 2012.
On Thursday, more refugees travelling in about 12 Baby Coach buses were seen being ferried to the camp.
Confirmation
When contacted, the district chairman, Mr Aggrey Natuhamya, said: “4,000 refugees are expected to be brought to the camp this year for settlement.”
“Some came in mid-February, others were brought on Thursday and others will continue coming,” he added.
The camp is managed by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the Office of the Prime Minister’s Department of Refugees.
Services to refugees are implemented by a host of “implementing partner” non-governmental organisations, principally the Lutheran World Federation, the Windle Charitable Trust, Africa Humanitarian Action and African Initiative for Relief Development.
Most of the current residents of the settlement are Congolese nationals who fled the M23 rebellion and the broader Kivu conflict beginning early 2012.
By January 1, 2014, more than half a million refugees fled the Democratic Republic of Congo, making DRC refugee population the sixth largest in the world.
More than 75 per cent of the DRC refugees are hosted by neighbouring countries in the Great Lakes region and Southern Africa, the Republic of the Congo (31,936), Uganda (154,262), Tanzania (64,659), Rwanda (73,041), Burundi (45,124), Zambia (14,784) and Malawi (2,558).
