Thousands flee DR Congo unrest

Kampala – The Ugandan military said yesterday it was stepping up security on its south-western border after unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday forced 10 000 civilians to cross over.

After an investigation into the influx, the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said 8 500 of the refugees returned to the DRC on Wednesday and Thursday morning, while another 1 500 – mostly women and children – remained on the Ugandan side. Regional military spokesperson Tabaro Kiconco said: “We have increased intelligence surveillance along the border and stepped up more security scrutiny over those who cross.We suspect negative elements may take advantage of the situation to enter.”The exodus was sparked when civilians, apparently backed by Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, began throwing stones at the UN mission in the DRC (Monuc) and their cars in the DRC’s border town of Bunagana on Tuesday.The UN personnel responded by firing in the air, forcing up to 10 000 people to flee to the Ugandan side of Bunagana, about 520km from the capital, Kampala.UNHCR said the situation “remains very fluid” and that it was working with the Ugandan government to assess the needs of the refugees.Uganda said militias were regrouping from bases in the DRC intending to launch attacks across the border.The 17 000-strong UN mission was engaged in talks with Nkunda, trying to woo him into integrating his forces into the national army, but he was adamant and this had created a crisis in the already volatile eastern DRC.An internationally-backed peace arrangement to restore order in the country had generally held but pockets of instability had reigned in parts of the eastern region controlled by Nkunda’s forces.Sapa-dpaRegional military spokesperson Tabaro Kiconco said: “We have increased intelligence surveillance along the border and stepped up more security scrutiny over those who cross.We suspect negative elements may take advantage of the situation to enter.”The exodus was sparked when civilians, apparently backed by Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, began throwing stones at the UN mission in the DRC (Monuc) and their cars in the DRC’s border town of Bunagana on Tuesday.The UN personnel responded by firing in the air, forcing up to 10 000 people to flee to the Ugandan side of Bunagana, about 520km from the capital, Kampala.UNHCR said the situation “remains very fluid” and that it was working with the Ugandan government to assess the needs of the refugees.Uganda said militias were regrouping from bases in the DRC intending to launch attacks across the border.The 17 000-strong UN mission was engaged in talks with Nkunda, trying to woo him into integrating his forces into the national army, but he was adamant and this had created a crisis in the already volatile eastern DRC.An internationally-backed peace arrangement to restore order in the country had generally held but pockets of instability had reigned in parts of the eastern region controlled by Nkunda’s forces.Sapa-dpa