12 000 DRC refugees flee unrest

KAMPALA – At least 12 000 refugees fleeing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo have crossed over the border into southwest Uganda, says an army spokesperson.

Heavy fighting broke out in eastern DRC last month after rebels led by dissident general Laurent Nkunda attacked and forced out government soldiers, near the town of Sake. The army spokesperson for western Uganda, Tabaro Kiconco, said the refugees fled into Kisoro district after clashes took place on the Congolese side about 15km from the Ugandan border.He said: “Yesterday, after that fighting started, more than 12 000 refugees fled to the Ugandan side and are currently camped in two places.”The United Nations peacekeepers in the DRC battled Nkunda’s men last week using helicopter gunships, heavy weapons and armoured vehicles in skirmishes that killed 150 rebels – the highest recorded death toll of any battle involving UN forces in the DRC.The Congolese army had since regained their positions, but sporadic clashes had persisted.Kiconco said: “The fighting is continuing.We are monitoring our borders and have increased numbers of security personnel in the region.If the conflict spills over the border, we shall repel it.”He added that refugees would have to register with local authorities to be allowed to stay.He said: “The refugees must identify themselves so we know they are not a security threat.”Uganda feared that the DRC’s chaotic eastern provinces were a haven for rebels trying to destabilise it by launching incursions over the border, ostensibly the reason it joined Rwanda to invade the DRC in a 1998-2003 war.During the war, which drew in six neighbouring countries and a plethora of armed groups, Nkunda, a Congolese Tutsi, fought for Rwandan-backed rebels hunting the Hutu militia, who took part in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide against Tutsis.The latest flare-up came as the DRC’s newly elected President Joseph Kabila was to be inaugurated on Wednesday, winding up a long peace process aiming to restore stability to the huge country.The UN Refugee Agency was sending a team to Kisoro this week to assess the plight of the refugees.Nampa-ReutersThe army spokesperson for western Uganda, Tabaro Kiconco, said the refugees fled into Kisoro district after clashes took place on the Congolese side about 15km from the Ugandan border.He said: “Yesterday, after that fighting started, more than 12 000 refugees fled to the Ugandan side and are currently camped in two places.”The United Nations peacekeepers in the DRC battled Nkunda’s men last week using helicopter gunships, heavy weapons and armoured vehicles in skirmishes that killed 150 rebels – the highest recorded death toll of any battle involving UN forces in the DRC.The Congolese army had since regained their positions, but sporadic clashes had persisted.Kiconco said: “The fighting is continuing.We are monitoring our borders and have increased numbers of security personnel in the region.If the conflict spills over the border, we shall repel it.”He added that refugees would have to register with local authorities to be allowed to stay.He said: “The refugees must identify themselves so we know they are not a security threat.”Uganda feared that the DRC’s chaotic eastern provinces were a haven for rebels trying to destabilise it by launching incursions over the border, ostensibly the reason it joined Rwanda to invade the DRC in a 1998-2003 war.During the war, which drew in six neighbouring countries and a plethora of armed groups, Nkunda, a Congolese Tutsi, fought for Rwandan-backed rebels hunting the Hutu militia, who took part in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide against Tutsis.The latest flare-up came as the DRC’s newly elected President Joseph Kabila was to be inaugurated on Wednesday, winding up a long peace process aiming to restore stability to the huge country.The UN Refugee Agency was sending a team to Kisoro this week to assess the plight of the refugees.Nampa-Reuters