First convoy of Angolan refugees from Zambia arrives

About 500 Angolans are expected to return home from Zambia on Wednesday, an official of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) told IRIN. "The first convoy of about 500 Angolans will arrive at a reception centre in Cazombo [in the southwestern province of Moxico] from the Meheba refugee camp [in Zambia's North-Western province] this afternoon," said Fernando Mendes, the UNHCR spokesperson in Angola. The UNHCR is expecting 40,000 Angolans to return from Zambia up until November, when the rainy season starts. There are currently 71,000 Angolan refugees in Zambia. Of the 40,000 to be repatriated, about 18,000 are from the Meheba camp, 12,000 from the Mayukwayukwa camp in Western province, 8,000 from the Nangweshi camp, also in Western province, and 2,000 from the Ukwimi camp in Eastern province. The returnees will stay at the reception centre in Cazombo for at least five days to attend sessions on mine awareness and HIV/AIDS and get medical assistance if required. UNHCR will provide the new arrivals with seeds, agricultural tools, tents, blankets and other essentials. "The returnees will only receive two months of food rations when they leave the centre, and not the usual supply to last until the harvest season, because the World Food Programme is experiencing a weak pipeline," Mendes explained. Until 2002, when the peace accord was signed, about 441,000 Angolan refugees were estimated to be living in neighbouring countries. UNHCR estimates some 223,000 Angolan refugees currently remain in the major asylum countries - the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Namibia and the Republic of Congo - as well as about 14,000 in South Africa and Botswana.