Refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in western Uganda. The people have fled the fighting in the eastern region of the country., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
1000s of Congolese flee to Uganda
Sat Jul 7, 2012 2:40AM GMT
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Thousands of Congolese refugees have crossed into neighboring Uganda, fleeing from firefights between government troops and March 23 movement (M23) rebels.
The Ugandan Red Cross Society (URCS) said in a statement that nearly 4,500 refugees crossed into Uganda following the capture of the border down of Bunagana in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Xinhua reported on Friday.
"Yesterday (Thursday) URCS volunteers registered 1,765 refugees new arrivals at Nyakabande, transferred by UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) from the border," the statement said.
The statement added that 2,235 more refugees from Bunagana were likely to be transferred to Nyakabande transit center, where 8,353 refugees already live.
The rebels, known as the March 23 movement, defected from the Congolese army in April in protest over alleged mistreatment in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC). They had been integrated into the Congolese army under a peace deal signed in 2009.
The mutiny is being led by General Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on a charge of recruiting child soldiers.
More than 10,000 Congolese citizens have fled to Rwanda and Uganda since early May to escape the fighting in the eastern Congo.
Congo has faced numerous problems over the past few decades, such as grinding poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and a war in the east of the country that has dragged on for over a decade and left over 5.5 million people dead.
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