Thousands of refugees flee to Tanzania

Thousands of Rwandan refugees have fled to Tanzania since the beginning of the year, according to the UNHCR. “The number of refuges moving to Tanzania from Rwanda has increased significantly since the beginning of the year,” spokesman Paul Stromberg told IRIN on Thursday. He said the reasons given by the refugees ranged from conscription into the army, disappearance of their relatives and general insecurity. The BBC Kinyarwanda service on Wednesday reported that 5,000 Rwandan refugees had fled Kibungo prefecture to Ngara in Tanzania since the beginning of the year. Refugees interviewed by the radio said they were fleeing killings and insecurity back home, as well as the ‘gacaca’ traditional justice system, to be introduced later this year. The Rwandan authorities have blamed their opponents for “creating panic” among the population, which has led to people fleeing to Tanzania. “Opportunists are telling people that gacaca will lead to the arrest of more genocide suspects and that the coming census will determine the number of genocide survivors, so that revenge killings can take place,” Rwandan presidential adviser Major Emmanuel Ndahiro told IRIN. “This has caused panic and some people have fled the country.” He said a ministerial delegation would visit the affected areas next week to explain certain issues to the population and calm down the situation.