People fleeing conflict continue to arrive in DRC

Tens of thousands of residents of southern Brazzaville had fled further south in December and remain unaccounted for. People fleeing the conflict were arriving in the Bas-Congo area of DRC at a rate of 30-40 per day, UNHCR said yesterday. An estimated 20,000 had so far settled in the Luozi area of Bas-Congo, it said. Meanwhile, a government-led assessment mission was being planned for the town of Dolisie in southern Congo, where recent fighting between government forces and Cocoye militia allied to former president Pascal Lissouba was reported to have resulted in additional population displacements, humanitarian sources told IRIN.