Share & more
Thousands of civilians in Equateur province have crossed the Oubangui river into the Republic of Congo to escape heavy fighting between DRC government forces and advancing rebels of the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC), UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said on Friday. He said MLC rebels had been progressing towards the town of Mbandaka over the past several weeks. UNHCR was currently providing assistance to between 10,000 and 15,000 refugees, who were scattered along a 400-km stretch in the
Impfondo area of the Republic of Congo, he said. Most of the refugees referred to the rebel forces as "liberators" and said they were fleeing alleged violence and harassment by retreating government troops, Redmond stated. UNHCR has opened a field office in Impfondo to respond to the needs of the refugee population. The majority were fishermen and were
largely self-sufficient in food, he said.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions