UNHCR transferring DRC refugees out of Bangui

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has started transferring DRC refugees in the Central African Republic (CAR) capital Bangui to a camp at Molange, 138 km north of the city, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said on Friday. Refugees reportedly began asking to be transferred out of Bangui after a failed coup attempt in May, which caused havoc in the CAR capital and claimed the lives of ten refugees of Rwandese, Sudanese and DRC nationalities. According to UNHCR, DRC refugees now fear for their safety, and some are opting for a camp transfer in search of more secure conditions. UNHCR reported that on average, a dozen refugees daily ask to be transferred from Bangui, which is currently home to about 9,000 refugees, most of whom come from Zongo and Libenge in DRC’s Equateur province. According to UNHCR, the refugees fled Equateur in two waves, in January 1999 and again in July 2000 when fighting between rebel and government forces intensified. To date, UNHCR has transferred 205 DRC refugees to Molange in four separate convoys. Molange camp was opened in January 2001 for 1,600 refugees from the DRC who had just arrived in the CAR.