Border checks strengthened

Security checks at western border points have been strengthened, Defence Minister Edgar Maokola-Majogo told parliament last week. According to the Tanzanian 'Guardian' daily, he said army troops were being reinforced in the Kagera, Kigoma and Rukwa areas. The newspaper said he was responding to MPs' fears that wars in neighbouring countries would spill over into Tanzania.

New refugee camp to ease Lugufu burden

A new Red Cross refugee camp is to be built in the Kigoma region to ease the burden on the Lugufu camp which has been stretched beyond capacity by refugees fleeing the DRC, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced on Monday. In a press release, it said the new camp would operate as an extension of Lugufu and would have its own healthcare structure, water supply, sanitation and security. "No-one can foresee precisely what will happen but we have to act now," said Georg Nothelle, head of the IFRC in Tanzania. "The refugees tell us they have no faith in the DRC peace process and we believe that people will continue to cross the lake [Tanganyika]." The IFRC stressed that while fresh funding was required for the buffer camp, it faces a serious shortfall for the existing operation which also includes some 83,000 Burundian refugees in the Kasulu area.