Congolese refugees settling in Ugandan camps - UNHCR

Congolese refugees who crossed into Uganda's Bundibugyo District to escape the latest wave of killing in Ituri District, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), were being settled in officially designated camps, an official of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told IRIN on Friday. The UNHCR spokesperson for Uganda, Bushra Malik, said the first three truckloads of refugees left Bundibugyo on Thursday for the Kyaka II settlement camp, after a UNHCR team conducted a preliminary assessment of the area. The camp is in Kyenjonjo District, about 180 km from Bundibugyo. By late Thursday, Malik said, 23 refugees had been housed. More refugees would be transferred depending on how many were willing, she said. "This is very important," she told IRIN, "according to our mandate, we can only assist the refugees who are willing to move to Kyaka II from Bundibugyo." She added that many of the refugees did not want to move into camps as they had family or clan links in the region. Others were waiting to go back, while others had come with a large number of cattle. Tens of thousands of refugees have fled Ituri since fighting erupted on 7 May between rebel groups and militias seeking to control the area following the withdrawal of the Ugandan army. Since the Ugandans left several massacres of civilians have been reported in Bunia, Ituri's main town, and in rural parts of district. Many of the Congolese who have fled into Uganda have ended up in Bundibugyo, on the southern tip of Lake Albert. "According to assessments made by our missions, we have close to 11,000 new arrivals from the DRC since this new conflict started," Malik said. She said that a team comprising UNHCR, Uganda Red Cross and the Ugandan government had prepared Kyaka to cope with the influx. She said a transit centre had been set up and sanitary facilities as well as basic health services had been provided. "We have stockpiled non-food items - blankets, plastic sheets, jerry cans and some essential clothing," she added. "We have also secured an adequate supply of essential drugs and are looking at the existing water supply." Plots being demarcated in the camp are roughly half a hectare per family. Kyaka II was established in 1997 and currently houses 3,700 refugees, mostly Congolese who fled previous surges of violence in Ituri and the Kivus, and some Rwandans. Malik said the capacity of the camp had not yet been determined but would be developed according to the number of refugees who chose to be relocated and how much land was allotted them. "That is a government decision," she said. Ugandan Minister for Disaster and Refugees Christine Amogin said the government had appealed to donors for food aid but had not yet received a response. "We hope to be assisted with food aid from the international community soon," she said.