Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. Angola

Final phase of repatriation flagged off

[Zambia] Angolan refugees at the transit centre in Meheba. IRIN
WFP has been forced to cut food rations to refugees
    JOHANNESBURG

    The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, on Tuesday kicked off the final phase of its programme to repatriate Angolan refugees from Zambia, an official told IRIN.

    The 75 Angolans who left the Meheba refugee settlement in northeastern Zambia for home are some of the remaining 34,500 that the agency intends repatriating by the end of October 2005, said UNHCR spokesman Kelvin Shimo.

    More than 8,000 Angolans in the Meheba, Mayukwayukwa and Nangweshi camps have decided not to return. "Most of these have been living in Zambia for at least three decades and are now part of the local community - they will not be our responsibility, and will be subject to the country's immigration laws," explained Shimo.

    Next year the UNHCR will shift its focus to assisting the 75,000 to 90,000 Angolans who live outside the camps to return.

    More than 200,000 Angolans sought refuge in Zambia during almost three decades of civil war between the government and the rebel movement, UNITA, which ended in 2002. According to the Angolan government, 70,000 refugees have returned home under their own steam since the ceasefire.

    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

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join