Aid workers ordered to leave Goma

The Interior Ministry of the DRC has ordered all agencies dealing with refugees to leave the Goma area with immediate effect. We regret this decision, but our colleagues are preparing to leave. The same instruction from the Ministry of the Interior also ordered the local authorities to close the border between North Kivu and Rwanda. It instructed them to expel any Rwandan refugees who have entered the area. We are deeply concerned about the implications this announcement will have for Rwandan refugees who have begun crossing the border again in recent days to avoid renewed fighting in western Rwanda.