Uganda alarmed by influx of Congolese refugees

By Moses Odokonyero

July 25, 2013 (KAMPALA) – The Ugandan government on Thursday expressed alarm at the influx of Congolese refugees in its territory, saying it had increased vulnerability of border communities and disrupted basic services in the country.

“The government of Uganda is alarmed by the extraordinary influx of refugees fleeing to Uganda following the attack launched by the Allied Democratic Front (ADF) on the border town of Kamango in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on the morning of 12 July 2013”, the country’s foreign affairs minister, Sam Kutesa, said in a statement on Wednesday.

In the aftermath of the ADF attacks on Kamango, in the eastern Congo, the Ugandan Red Cross put the number of Congolese refugees that had fled into Uganda’s western district of Bundibugyo at 66,000. This number has since risen.

Fresh fighting has also broken out in DRC’s volatile North Kivu region which has led to more Congolese refugees fleeing to the Kisoro district, in western Uganda.

“So far, 67,000 refugees have fled into Bundigugyo. A new emergency situation is unfolding in the western district of Kisoro where to date over 1,800 refugees have sought sanctuary and more [are] expected to arrive due to renewed fighting between the Congolese Armed Forces (FAEDC) and M23 in North Kivu”, the statement from the Ugandan government said.

Uganda says that conflict in eastern Congo is escalating the security situation across the Great Lakes region.

“The Ugandan government expresses deep concern over the attack by ADF on civilians and MONUSCO [United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo], which is further escalating the insecurity and humanitarian situation in eastern DRC. This poses a serious threat to peace, security, stability and development in the entire Great Lakes region”, the statement said.

Uganda said it views the fighting in eastern Congo and the influx of Congolese refugees in its territory as a matter of urgency and called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the international community to double peace and security efforts in the Great Lakes region.

Before the influx of Congolese refugees, Uganda already had 210,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers, according to UNCHR, with more than 60% from the DRC and the rest from neighbouring countries such as South Sudan.

(ST)