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The number of Namibians fleeing secessionist tensions in the northern Caprivi Strip south into Botswana has been increasing daily over the past two months, a UNHCR spokesman told IRIN on Tuesday.
The number of asylum seekers, he said, had grown from 849 at the beginning of December to over 2,400, “and they still keep coming in regularly”.
He said Botswana’s independent Refugee Advisory Committee had interviewed most of the refugees and had submitted a report to the government. Officials said the committee had recommended that the majority be granted refugee status.
Many of the asylum-seekers, most of whom are being housed in the Dukwe refugee camp north of the capital Gaborone, have claimed in interviews with Botswana officials that they were fleeing harrassment and intimidation by Namibian state security forces.
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