Continuing concern over DRC refugees

Humanitarian sources continue to express concern over the condition of tens of thousands of Congolese refugees pouring into CAR. They warned that the "precarious" condition of the refugees could lead to epidemics at any time. UNHCR meanwhile said the refugees fall into two distinct groups, with a concentration of 6,000-7,000 in the Bangui area and a further 13,000 - comprising some 6,000 DRC soldiers - in the Mobaye area. Most of them are fleeing the Zongo area, across the border from Bangui, ahead of an advance by rebels of Jean-Pierre Bemba's Mouvement de liberation congolais (MLC). It said the influx had now stabilised, but that the refugees required urgent humanitarian assistance.