Refugees flee fighting

An estimated 1,500 Angolan refugees fleeing fighting in eastern Angola have entered Zambia’s Western and Northwestern Provinces in the past three weeks.

UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said in Geneva on Tuesday that UNHCR had sent trucks with emergency food supplies and tents to three entry points in the Western Province: Chavuma, just south of the Angolan/Zambia border, Zambezi which is one of the major towns in the region and Kalabo which is situated on the border of the Liuwa Plain National Park. He added that so far 1,050 of the new arrivals had been transferred to exiting refugee settlements.

“Many of the refugees are weak, after having walked for days,” he said. “Zambia staff are also evaluating the need for a transit centre in Northwestern Province, where the majority of new refugees are crossing.”

Janowski added that refugee sites at Mehebe and Mayukwayukwa currently housed about 32,000 Angolans while another 120,000 were settled in the border areas. Over the past year, an average of 100 Angolans a month have sought refuge in Zambia.

The spokesman added that smaller groups had also arrived in Kisenge in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the past two weeks. “They have told UNHCR of being taken from their homes and used as human shields by retreating UNITA rebels fearful of government at strikes. They say they escaped and made their way to the border under cover of darkness,” Janowski said.