The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Democratic Republic of Congo National Commission for Refugees (CNR) have registered a total of 4,221 from the Central African Republic in Andu, Lower Uele province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to UNHCR officials in DR Congo, the refugees are asking for asylum in the country after fleeing from their country because of repeated clashes between armed groups and the Central African national army as well as soldiers of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) as well as Russian and Rwandan mercenaries.
While there is relative calm in the Central African Republic capital Bangui right now, the same cannot be said of the nation’s hinterlands where there are heightening tensions and military confrontations since the recent legislative and presidential elections held on December 27, 2020.
According to the most recent count, more than 42,000 persons have crossed the Ubangi river escaping from troubles in the Central African Republic provinces frontier areas seeking asylum in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This massive influx of Central African refugees is at the centre of disquiet by the authorities in the provinces hardest hit by the arrival of the refugees namely North Ubangi, South Ubangi and Lower Uele.
All of the refugees who include children, women and old men have nowhere to stay, need food and clothing as well as appropriate medical attention as they keep arriving DR Congo.
“They are in a situation of a humanitarian catastrophe. The situation is terrible,” a UNHCR official in Lower Uele said on Monday.
Support Our Journalism
There are millions of ordinary people affected by conflict in Africa whose stories are missing in the mainstream media. HumAngle is determined to tell those challenging and under-reported stories, hoping that the people impacted by these conflicts will find the safety and security they deserve.
To ensure that we continue to provide public service coverage, we have a small favour to ask you. We want you to be part of our journalistic endeavour by contributing a token to us.
Your donation will further promote a robust, free, and independent media.
Donate Here
