Angolan refugees seek right to remain at border

Angolan refugees in northern Namibia have said they do not want to be sent to the Osire refugee camp, north of the capital Windhoek, and have instead called upon the Namibian government to
give them grazing land at the border.

Hesdy Rathling, UNHCR's Senior Liaison Officer in Namibia, told IRIN on Wednesday that UNHCR had discussed the issue with the government, and sent a UNHCR investigator to discuss the issue with the refugees.

He added that the Department of Home Affairs had given the refugees time to reconsider their position. The Osire camp houses an estimated 9,000 people, many of whom have entered the country since last December when Namibia gave Angola the right to use its territory to launch attacks against UNITA
rebels.

"The problem we have is that these refugees have cattle which need grazing land," Rathling said.

Meanwhile, official press reports in Angola this week said a further influx of refugees was expected as a new government offensive against UNITA rebels gets underway. The newspaper 'Agora', quoting a military source, said the new offensive involved specially trained counter-insurgency troops.

"The groups will operate in areas where the rebels are still very active, notably in the central, southern, northern and eastern regions of the country," it said. "If necessary, government soldiers would operate beyond the country's borders where the rebels often seek shelter. According to the
military source, operations could be carried out in Zambia and Namibia."

Last week, UNITA launched an attack near Rundu, Namibia, killing six people and wounding six others.