UNHCR assisting unaccompanied children

With the closure of the Mbuji Mayi camp, UNHCR is now only assisting a group of unaccompanied Rwandan and Burundian children in Kinshasa and about 200 urban refugees in Bukavu area, Marie said. The agency closed its office and a refugee site in Mbandaka on 30 April this year, after flying the last 65 unaccompanied Rwandan refugee children to Kinshasa. “Efforts to reunite the children with family members continue,” Marie said. Meanwhile, an estimated 60,000 Rwandans and 20,000 Burundians are thought to remain in inaccessible areas of eastern DRC. UNHCR reported that some people are still coming forward for voluntary repatriation. The agency flew 1,300 volunteers home to Rwanda from Mbuji Mayi between June and October 1997. Rwandans and Burundians who did not want to be repatriated have remained at the site, as UNHCR looked for long-term solutions for the group.