UNHCR has reported that 225 refugees from the eastern DRC town of Fizi arrived in Tanzania on Friday. Staff based in Kigoma expected to collect another 700 new arrivals from other villages along the country’s lakeshore. According to UNHCR, the refugees who feared new fighting between RCD rebels and Mayi-Mayi militia, were arriving in leaky boats with their belongings. UNHCR said these “alarming figures” come on the heels of 1,300 arrivals on Thursday, and 2,058 between Monday and Wednesday last week. The total number of DRC refugees who have fled the country since the outbreak of the conflict in August 1998 is over 26,000.
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