Refugee influx overwhelms Kyangwali Settlement Camp

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) will tomorrow start relocating about 700 refugees who entered Kikuube district from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to different refugee settlements.

The UN refugee agency is currently hosting these displaced people at Kagoma reception centre as thousands of refugees continue to cross the dangerous waters of Lake Albert as they flee fresh fighting in Eastern Congo between the rebels and the Congolese government forces.

According to Frank Walusimbi, the UNHCR spokesperson, since January, over 15,000 new arrivals of refugees with over 3000 from the DRC have been registered in Kikuube district.

Last week in Parliament, the Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, asked the government to engage other neighbouring countries to support Uganda in hosting refugees.

This is after the Vice Chairperson of Committee on Equal Opportunities, Dorcus Acen presented a report on the state of refugees and refugee host communities in Uganda where the committee noted that the influx of refugees had led to encroachment on wetlands in the various settlements

Written by Mike Sebalu