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Exiles to return home

    JOHANNESBURG
    Preparations are underway for the repatriation of several hundred Namibians in exile in Botswana following recent negotiations between the ministry of home affairs and the United Nations, the ‘Namibian’ reported on Monday. Thousands of Namibians fled to Botswana in late 1998 following the uncovering of a secessionist movement in the region led by former opposition leader Mishake Muyongo and a subsequent security clampdown. Home Affairs spokesman Mikka Asino said there had been discussions between some senior officials from his ministry and UNHCR over the issue. The total number of refugees at the remote camp at Dukwe currently stands at 3,707. Of these 2,308 are Namibians, 782 are Angolans and the rest hail from Somalia and the Great Lakes Region while a few are from West Africa. At the time of their flight several hundred Namibians, among them women and children, claimed they were escaping persecution in the Caprivi.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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