Tension could affect refugee aid, UN agency says

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed concern on Tuesday over ongoing tension in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), near the border with Rwanda, saying this could hinder its efforts to help refugees on both sides.

The agency reported that following Rwanda's closure of the border on Sunday, no new arrivals had been reported in Rwanda's western province of Cyangugu. The government had given assurances that Congolese refugees would still be allowed to cross into Rwanda.

Since 26 May, when fighting broke out between loyalist and dissident Congolese troops in the eastern Congolese town of Bukavu, thousands of refugees had crossed into Cyangugu before the announcement of the border closure.

UNHCR said it had registered 2,390 Congolese refugees in Cyangugu who had fled the fighting in Bukavu in the last two weeks.

"More than 985 of them are hosted in the agency's Nyagatare transit centre, while others are living with friends and relatives in Rwanda," the agency said.

It added that a senior UNHCR emergency officer from Geneva would travel to Rwanda on Wednesday to make preparations for a possible further influx from the DRC.

"The agency is also updating existing contingency plans, working to expand facilities at the transit centre, and sending 10,000 sleeping mats from its stocks in Tanzania," UNHCR reported.

Meanwhile, the UNCHR reported that the continued tensions in the DRC had forced it to suspend the repatriation of Rwandan refugees in Bukavu. It said so far this year the agency had helped more than 5,000 people return to Rwanda from the eastern Congolese towns of Bukavu and Goma.

UNHCR reported that its operations elsewhere in the DRC had also been affected by the evacuation of non-essential staff following the UN's decision to move to a higher security alert in the country.