Fighting in southeastern Katanga province has led to a daily influx of hundreds of refugees into Tanzania’s Rukwa region. According to a UNHCR statement yesterday, the refugees are fleeing clashes between government and rebel troops, looting, and the fear of being pressed into military service. In the second week of November alone, UNHCR recorded 2,500 new arrivals. Camps in the Rukwa region are already sheltering 15,000 of the refugees and UNHCR is considering opening a new site in the area.
Meanwhile, police in Rukwa have arrested 20 DRC government soldiers who were among refugees that fled fighting across the lake in Moba, Tanzanian state radio reported. The soldiers are being questioned by the authorities.
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