AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, Dar es Salaam | Monday 11.30pm.
A TOTAL of 10,367 refugees from fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo have arrived in western Tanzania since the start of fighting there two months ago, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said on Monday.
A group of 147 were registered in Kigoma on Friday, officials of the UNHCR said. Of the new arrivals, 114 came from Katanga province and 33 from the eastern DRC area of Kizimia. Those from Kalemie, on Lake Tanganyika, told UNHCR officials that they had fled attacks by Tutsi-led rebels fighting to topple DRC President Laurent Kabila. They described the attacks as retaliation for surprise attacks by Mai-Mai fighters, members of a traditional warrior caste who are backing Kabila.
Meanwhile, 107 Burundian refugees were also received at Kigoma last Friday, bringing their number to 2975 since August. But the UNHCR officials said that the Burundians were not covered by an ermegency project focusing on arrivals from the DRC.