Thousands of Congolese refugees arrive in Uganda
Congolese refugees arrive at Sebagoro landing site in Hoima District, Uganda. PHOTO | COURTESY | DAILY MONITOR
What you need to know:
- Congolese refugees have arrived by boat at various landing sites in western Uganda.
- They are fleeing conflict in eastern DRC.
- The refugees received basic relief assistance before being transported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to Kyangwali refugee settlement camp.
Thousands of Congolese nationals fleeing fighting have arrived in Hoima District in western Uganda.
Conflict has erupted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), security officials said.
VIOLENCE
They refugees were reportedly fleeing tribal fighting between the Bagegere and the Lendu, while others were running away from areas where UPDF soldiers were fighting ADF rebels.
“Within less than a week, we have received over 7,000 Congolese refugees. They are asylum seekers who have come for safety,” the Hoima Resident District Commissioner, Mr John Stephen Ekoom, said.
He said more refugees were arriving as fighting raged in eastern DRC.
REFUGEES
The refugees travelled by boat across Lake Albert and arrived at various landing sites in Uganda.
Most of them entered Uganda through Kaiso, Sebagoro, Nsonga and Bugoma landing sites. However, some have evaded being registered by local authorities.
“We are not taking issues lightly. We have deployed security officials to scrutinise them. We are not allowing them to mix with local communities although there are some who are trying to seek refuge from their relatives and friends,” Ekoom added.
The refugees include some Alurs, Bagegere and Lendu, according to the Albertine regional Police spokesperson, Mr Julius Hakiza.
PATROLS
The Police Marine Forces said they would increase boat patrols to curb possible accidents due to overloading.
The Congolese told Ugandan authorities they fled as houses were being torched and people attacked with machetes and firearms.
Upon arrival, the refugees received basic relief assistance before being transported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to Kyangwali refugee settlement camp.
SCREENING
The refugees were being registered by OPM and medically screened by Action Africa Help, government officials said.
“Since December 19, 2017, we have registered 11,553 refugees but an estimated 3,000 others are still at reception centres at landing sites,” said Mr Douglas Asiimwe, an officer in OPM.
OPM and UNHCR used buses to transport the refugees from reception sites on Lake Albert but there were plans to deploy more trucks to speed up the transportation to Kyangwali.
Mr Asiimwe said an emergency registration team was on the ground to conduct biometric registration.
