DATE=7/21/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-N-H-C-R / RWANDA REFUGEES (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-264657
BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN
DATELINE=GENEVA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations refugee agency, U-N-H-C-R,
says it is concerned by what it calls a worrying
increase in the number of Rwandan refugees arriving in
Tanzania. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports the agency
says almost one-thousand Rwandans have fled to
Tanzania since the beginning of the month.
TEXT: The U-N refugee agency says this is a
significant rise in the number of Rwandan refugees
arriving in Tanzania.
The agency says that for the first six months of this
year, an average of 380 Rwandan refugees a month have
sought asylum in Tanzania. It says the recent big
increase in refugees brings this year's total to
three-thousand-240.
U-N-H-C-R spokesman Ron Redmond says the total is
almost twice the number of refugees that was recorded
for all of 1999. He says most of the refugees
reportedly come from Rwanda's Kibungo area.
/// REDMOND ACT ///
They take two days generally to get there. They
have to then sneak across the Kagera River into
Tanzania in small numbers. They cite a number
of reasons for leaving including an alleged
increase in disappearances and reported
arbitrary arrests and killings, especially among
young men.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Redmond says aid workers in Tanzania who traveled
to the Rwandan border on July 11th were told that
bodies had been seen floating in the Kagera River. He
says this is another possible reason for the
increasing numbers of refugees fleeing Rwanda. He
says the majority of refugees are women and young men.
He says Rwandan security forces reportedly are
gathered in the border region, making departure
difficult. The refugees tell aid workers they have to
cross the border into Tanzania at night to avoid being
stopped by the security forces who would prevent them
from leaving. (Signed)
NEB/LS/JWH/PW
21-Jul-2000 10:38 AM EDT (21-Jul-2000 1438 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
NEWSLETTER
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|