The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) repatriated 334 more refugees from neighbouring Gabon to the Republic of Congo, the agency's refugee protection officer in Brazzaville told IRIN on Friday.
The official, Anne Marie Messian, said the refugees were flown home last week from the southwestern Gabonese city of Franceville to the Congolese cities of Brazzaville, the capital, and Pointe-Noire, aboard UNHCR chartered aircraft.
Messian said each returnee received 70,000 francs CFA (US $127) to facilitate their resettlement. They form part of some 2,000 Congolese the UNHCR plans to repatriate from Gabon this year. So far, some 800 have been brought home. The repatriations are voluntary.
Thousands of Congolese fled to Gabon in 1999 to escape three civil wars.
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
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