UN refugee agency notes "sharp" increase in exodus of Angolans to Zambia
5 September -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today reported a "sharp" increase in the number of refugees arriving in Zambia after fleeing fighting in Angola's eastern province of Moxico.
According to UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski, who briefed reporters at the agency's Headquarters in Geneva, more than a thousand people went through five transit centres last week alone, marking a fourfold increase. "The new refugees are mostly women and children and arrive in poor condition," the spokesman said. "They receive food and other supplies upon arrival at the transit centres before being transferred to the Meheba refugee settlement, which is located near Solwezi in the North-Western Province."
The Meheba settlement, which covers an area of 729 square kilometres, has recently been extended by another 100 square kilometres to accommodate the new arrivals, who are allocated a plot of land and farming materials. The camp currently holds close to 40,000 people, some of whom have been there since 1971.
Zambia is now hosting more than 220,000 refugees, primarily from Angola. Renewed fighting in the region has caused some 30,000 Angolans to seek refuge in Zambia during the past nine months.
In other refugee-related news, UNHCR is currently carrying out winterization activities in Ingushetia, where some 170,000 people are expected to have to spend another winter away from their homes in Chechnya, Mr. Janowski said. The agency is building a new tented camp for 12,000 people at Severni and had also committed $400,000 to help the local authorities revamp the crumbling water supply system.
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