[Peace-discuss] 10,000 refugees flee violence in Congo

[Ricky Baldwin]

I don't much more about what's happening.  Certainly
the Congo wars have been discussed here, as well as UN
abuses.  Those of us who are keeping an eye on the
Congo, however, may want to see this further evidence
that the situation doesn't seem to be "normalizing"
(whatever that means in the Congo).

Ricky

10,000 Congolese refugees flee to Uganda 

By KATY POWNALL, Associated Press Wed Aug 22, 2007

As many as 10,000 Congolese refugees have crossed the
border into Uganda in the last two days, fleeing
violence in their villages, local government officials
said Wednesday.

Some of the refugees said they fled after a
demonstration by villagers protesting the failure of
U.N. peacekeepers to improve security in their remote
southeastern Congolese territory.

Refugees told of demonstrators hurling rocks at U.N.
troops, and some said they feared that the situation
would deteriorate, said David Masereka, the district
commissioner of Kisoro, which sits along the border
with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"The influx began yesterday morning and continues up
to now," Masereka said.

He said the refugees had gathered on the site of a
primary school in the small border town of Bunagana.

"It is mostly women and children that have arrived but
they came in haste and were unable to bring food.
These people are already hungry but we have no
supplies to give them," Masereka told The Associated
Press.

Large-scale influxes of Congolese refugees into Uganda
are not unusual. The mineral-rich eastern part of
Congo, bordering Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, remains
the most unstable area of the country. Fighting among
rival militias, including groups from neighboring
countries, regularly breaks out and often results in
civilian casualties.

Uganda occupied part of the region during a 1998-2002
war in Congo that drew in military forces from six
neighboring countries.

"We are taking these reports from local government
seriously because of the large numbers of refugees
involved and we have dispatched assessment teams to
Kisoro," said Roberta Russo, a Uganda-based
spokeswoman for the U.N.'s refugee agency. "But we
suspect that as soon as the situation in Congo
normalizes most will cross back to their homes."




       
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