Decrease in returnee numbers

Some 7,000 new returnees were registered in Brazzaville last week, which was 4,000 less than during the previous week, a UN report received by IRIN said. The reduction could be attributed partly to persistent insecurity and human rights violations committed on routes used by people returning to the city, the report said. It could also be explained by the recent increase in the level of assistance being provided in Kinkala, 77 km from the capital, which was encouraging people to go to that town from the forests. A team from the NGO Caritas was now well established in Kinkala, from where humanitarian assistance would also be extended to Boko and two other villages along the railway line, the report added.