West African immigrants seek asylum

Ten West Africans out of 3,000 being held as illegal immigrants in a transit centre outside the Angolan capital, Luanda, have sought asylum, an official from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told IRIN on Wednesday. "The immigrants are from Guinea and Mali. We expect the 10 to be released today," said Fernando Mendes, the UNHCR spokesman in Angola. He could not comment on the asylum seekers' condition, as he had not had access to them. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Luanda said it had yet to gain access to the "approximately 3,000" immigrants. "We are therefore not in a position to comment on their condition. We [OCHA] are in negotiations with the minister of the interior and the minister of social assistance and rehabilitation to gain access and assess their situation," OCHA field coordinator Paula Carosi told IRIN. The West Africans have been waiting for the past few months in a transit centre in Viana, a suburb of Luanda, to be deported to their countries by air. They were rounded up along with tens of thousands of Congolese as part of "Operacao Brilhante", a campaign to deport illegal foreigners working in the diamond industry that began in December last year. At least 120,000 Congolese workers were expelled. UN officials accused the Angolan army of human rights violations while carrying out the operation. OCHA reported that an inter-agency mission, which included Angolan officials, that traveled to areas bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo confirmed reports of abuses and "deplorable conditions". "Those interviewed told of beatings and having their property stolen by police. Under the pretext of searching for hidden diamonds and money, expellees were subjected to unprotected and unhygienic anal and vaginal body searches, putting their health at risk. Some women were raped - at times repeatedly - while being held in the transit camps," an OCHA report said. The Angolan authorities have since then suspended the operation.