Team from UNHCR to assess refugee needs along Congo river
26 September -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced today its was sending a mission to Central Africa to assess the impact of a fresh arrival of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who are settled along the Congo and Ubangui rivers in the northern Republic of the Congo.
Briefing reporters in Geneva, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said the team would visit several areas affected by the influx and look at ways of helping refugees trapped in unreachable parts of the river. It will also consider cross-border aid deliveries from the Central African Republic, where about 98,000 refugees have arrived recently after fleeing fighting between DRC's Congolese Armed Forces and anti-government rebels in Equateur province. Most of these refugees are presently unreachable because of the tension along the river, Mr. Janowski said.
A recent UNHCR mission to the Betou Prefecture, located 200 kilometres away in the northern part of the Republic of the Congo, confirmed the presence of some 20,000 refugees who arrived primarily in July. "They are putting a tremendous strain on the local population, which stood at 7,000 before their arrival," the spokesman said, noting that fish and manioc had become very scarce, and the price of manioc had doubled since the refugees' arrival. "Although many of them have been accommodated with local families, they sleep in the open and lack basic necessities," he said.
The refugee agency -- which is planning to provide medical, educational, agricultural and food aid to the population - is negotiating with the authorities to grant the refugees plots of arable land. UNHCR also plans to provide plastic sheeting, wooden rafters, kitchen sets and blankets. Vaccinations against measles have been administered to some 4,000 persons, including both refugees and the local population.
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