UN agency repatriates 215 Angolan refugees

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has repatriated 215 Angolan refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). UNHCR Spokesman David Nthengwe told IRIN that the operation was the "largest aerial repatriation directly from the DRC capital, Kinshasa, since repatriation efforts officially began in June 2003". The refugees, some of whom had been living in the DRC for 20 years, left Kinshasa on Sunday by plane for Luanda, the Angolan capital. "The refugees had fled fighting during Angola's 30-year civil war, but the end of the conflict has opened the door for UNHCR to initiate repatriation efforts," Nthengwe said. He added political disagreements between the neighbouring countries, including Angola's recent expulsion of thousands of illegal Congolese migrant workers, had slowed the repatriation process. The identities pf the refugees also had to be verified. Nthengwe told IRIN that by 20 August, some 7,000 Angolan refuges had been repatriated. He added that the UNHCR planned to repatriate another 13,000 by the end of 2005. According to Nthengwe, there were approximately 45,000 Angolan refugees in the DRC, of whom 2,400 were living in Kinshasa.