204 refugees return home voluntarily

Some 204 Central African Republic (CAR) refugees, who had been living in the Republic of Congo (ROC) since 2001, voluntarily returned home on Saturday, an official in the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told IRIN. UNHCR official Jean-Richard Faboumy said the refugees fled to Beto, in the neighbouring ROC, following a failed coup by former President Andre Kolingba on 28 May 2001. In 2003, the CAR Ministry of Social Affairs and National Solidarity set up a committee to oversee the reintegration of returning refugees. The UNHCR allocated US $80,000 to facilitate the reintegration, and the funds are used for health and education of the returnees. "The refugees' needs are many and the UNHCR alone cannot meet them," Faboumy said. He added that other UN agencies and donors could contribute to the resettlement of refugees. "We will consider favourably any request from UNHCR to help the refugees returning home," David Bulman, the UN World Food Programme representative, told IRIN on Tuesday. The returnees are the last of the CAR refugees who had been in the ROC. Three other groups returned in 2003.