Humanitarian aid for expelled Congolese sent to Kinshasa

A plane load of humanitarian aid for tens of thousands of Congolese nationals expelled from Angola has arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Monday. OCHA said the consignment comprised 5,400 blankets, 10,000 jerry cans, 35 tents, four rubber dinghies and four generators. The items, donated by the Italian and Norwegian governments, were transported by the World Food Programme. The UN Children's Fund will manage the items next week in the capital, Kinshasa, OCHA reported. Meanwhile, it said, the UN Mission in the DRC, also known as MONUC, would ensure delivery of items to Tembo and Kahungula, both in Bandundu Province, to which some of the expelled Congolese have returned. Distribution would be carried out by Medecins Sans Frontieres-Belgium, Catholic Relief Services and Caritas, OCHA reported. Provision of the relief materials is in response to an appeal by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the DRC, Herbert M'CLeod, on behalf of the Ministry of Solidarity and Humanitarian Affairs. Angolan authorities began expelling thousands of Congolese in December 2003, following a swoop on all foreigners mining diamonds illegally. The Congolese Ministry of Solidarity and Humanitarian Affairs and humanitarian agencies have reported that between 80,000 and 100,000 Congolese have already been or are about to be expelled.