Rwandan refugee numbers rising steadily

UNHCR on Friday noted “a worrying increase” in Rwandan refugees arriving in the Tanzanian district of Ngara, with 989 having arrived since the start of July - compared to a previous average monthly figure of 380 for the first six months of this year. The July arrivals brought the total for the year so far to 3,240, already well over the 1,633 that were recorded for the whole of 1999. Most of the refugees were reported to have come from Kibungo Prefecture, across the Kagera River, HCR spokesman Rod Redmond told a press briefing in Geneva.

The refugees were citing a number of reasons for leaving, “including an alleged increase in disappearances and reported arbitrary arrests and killings, especially of young men,” Redmond said. Reports of bodies floating in the Kagera River were another possible reason for a steady increase in refugee numbers since April, with the previous peak of 946 having been in May, he said. Refugees, the majority of whom were women and young men, had also reported their exit from Rwanda being made more difficult by local defence forces gathering in the border region, Redmond added.

Ngara District hosts some 22,000 of the 24,000 Rwandan refugees in Tanzania.