Arrest of aid workers raises security concerns

The recent arrest of two UNHCR field assistants in Kisenge has raised security concern among humanitarian organisations in Katanga, the weekly WFP report said. The workers were arrested by the military on 9 September on accusation that UNHCR and a group of Kisenge residents were allegedly recruiting youths for the Angolan rebel UNITA movement. They were released two days later following the intervention of UNHCR and the government, the report stated. Meanwhile, the UN system in Kinshasa was meeting on a daily basis to analyse the impact of the government’s recent decision to close all foreign exchange bureaux and prohibit the holding of dollars, a measure expected to have “a number of far reaching implications” on agency operations, the report added.