UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomes the decision by the Government of Uganda to give safe haven to thousands of refugees fleeing escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They have been stranded in a remote, inaccessible area in Mahagi Territory since late May.
The new arrivals were previously part of a larger group of approximately 45,000 people, according to local DRC authorities, who had attempted to flee towards the Ugandan border with the DRC shortly after deadly militia attacks on civilians in Ituri province on 17 and 18 May. While some have been able to return to their area of origin, thousands remained close to the border.
...