Glenna Gordon
1 November 2007
Bunagana — FIGHTING in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo has lead as many as 13,000 Congolese refugees to flee to the Ugandan border town of Kisoro in search of safe refugee at the transit camp Nyakabanda, some 15 kilometers from the border at Bunagana.
The current influx of refugees began arriving on October 19, according to Mr Aden Ilmi, the Senior Emergency Coordinator for Southwest Uganda United Nations High Commission on Refugees.
They are fleeing rampant violence caused by various militia groups in the Kivus, including the recently surrendered Mai Mai group and soldiers loyal to Tutsi militant Laurent Nkunda.
"It has become a humanitarian situation in Kivu where people cannot access food or medicine," said Ugandan Lieutenant Tabaro Kiconco, based in the Kisoro area. While he said fighting had quieted in the past few days due to the Mai Mai surrender, the situation is still hostile, causing many Congolese to flee.
"The fighting has stopped the last few days because the Mai Mai have surrendered, but it's still a battlefield for mothers with children. People have been staying in the bush because of security reasons," says Mr Ilmi.
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