Congolese flee for Tanzania amid continued tensions at home

Over 500 Congolese refugees have sought refuge in Tanzania, bringing the total number of Congolese fleeing for neighbouring countries to nearly 13,000 in the last 10 days. The exodus could increase if the situation does not stabilise in the DRC's Kivu region.

By Milicent Mutuli

22 October 2002

Before the recent influx of 500 Congolese, Tanzania's Kigoma district was already home to some 131,000 Congolese refugees.

KIGOMA, Tanzania, October 22 (UNHCR) - More than 500 Congolese have sought refuge in western Tanzania, a sign that the impact of a recent conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is spreading in the Great Lakes region.

The conflict first started when the Mai-Mai militia seized Uvira town in south Kivu, DRC, from the ruling rebel group, Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD-Goma), on October 12. RCD-Goma recaptured the town almost a week later.

On Monday, over 500 Congolese arrived in Kigoma, western Tanzania, following the weekend fighting in Uvira town. This brings the total number of Congolese fleeing for neighbouring countries in the last 10 days to nearly 13,000. Most of them have sought refuge in western Burundi, while smaller numbers have also gone to south-western Rwanda.

The Congolese refugees in Tanzania said they were forced to flee southwards, along the shores of Lake Tanganyika, when Burundian border authorities denied them entry into Burundi. The UN refugee agency has expressed fears that more Congolese may be headed for Tanzania following unconfirmed reports on Sunday that the retreating Mai-Mai militia had withdrawn southwards from Uvira, taking with them a significant number of civilians.

In addition to the Congolese arrivals, Tanzania is also struggling to cope with a sudden large influx of Burundian refugees. During October so far, more than 11,000 Burundian refugees have fled their war-torn country to Tanzania - 5,000 of them in the last week alone. The recent arrivals are outstripping UNHCR's reception capacity at a transit centre in Mbuba, close to the Kobero/Ngara border.