More refugees enter Uganda as army completes pullout

A further 5,000 refugees from the troubled Ituri region of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) walked into Uganda's Nebbi District between Sunday night and Monday, government sources and international observers told IRIN. The new arrivals put the number of refugees fleeing weeks of fighting in Bunia, the principal town in Ituri District, at about 20,000, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Uganda reported. Bunia has been the scene of intense fighting between rival ethnic militias since 6 April when the Ugandan army that had been occupying the town began to pull out. The head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Congo, Michel Kassa, told IRIN on Tuesday that "uncontrolled militiamen" where preventing humanitarian aid reaching thousands of displaced people in the north and south of Bunia. About 2,000 Congolese refugees entered Uganda on Monday through the Goli border post - the official crossing point - into Nebbi at the western tip of the Great Rift Valley. They were travelling alongside the last three battalions of withdrawing Ugandan soldiers for their protection. Brig Kale Kayihura, the last commander of the Ugandan forces in Bunia, told reporters at Nebbi that the army's total withdrawal from Ituri was now complete. "There is not a single Ugandan weapon or piece of military equipment in Congo, neither a single soldier," he said. Maj Ezra Byaruhanga, who led the Ugandan troops to the border, said the majority of the refugees accompanying his troops had fled Bunia when the fighting began. In all, their journey took two-and-a-half weeks. Many of the old and infirm refugees reportedly died along the way from diseases and due to the harsh weather conditions. The journey was made tougher by flash floods and landslides following heavy rainfall, which washed away a number of bridges enroute, Byaruhanga said. Meanwhile, the UNHCR reported on Monday that an additional 10,000 Congolese refugees were encamped near Lake Albert in Uganda. The agency reported that two assessment teams comprising Ugandan government officials and staff from the UNHCR and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) visited six subcounties in Nebbi, where local authorities had registered at least 10,000 refugees. Local authorities said that many of the refugees came from Mahagi, Bunia and Beni, less than 300 km across the Ugandan border with the DRC. UNHCR said the Ugandan Red Cross had made a single distribution of domestic supplies including tarpaulins for shelter, kitchen utensils and blankets to the refugee families in Nebbi. UNHCR reported that local authorities had said that while there continued to be goodwill towards the refugees, dwindling resources could raise tensions within the community. The agency called for the transfer of refugees to settlements and advised local officials to resume the registration of those willing to relocate.