New camp likely to open soon

Another 2,000 to 3,000 new refugee arrivals from the DRC could be
accommodated in western Tanzania's Lugufu I camp before it reached its maximum capacity, after which the Lugufu 2 camp would need to be opened for any additional arrivals, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. In a report released last week on the influx of refugees from the DRC, the Federation said Lugufu I had a registered
population of 49,010 refugees at the end of February and, although it was difficult to predict how many new refugees would arrive in the coming months, the new camp would probably be opened in April or May. The Federation and the Tanzanian Red Cross last year decided to prepare the Lugufu 2 camp - with a capacity of 30,000 people - as a contingency measure in anticipation of a further refugee influx from eastern DRC.

Although the high numbers of new Congolese refugees had gone down, "limited numbers" continued to arrive, the report stated.