The United Nations refugee agency says it is witnessing a sharp rise in the number of people fleeing into Uganda to escape conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
UNHCR says 2,650 refugees have crossed the border this week, fleeing fresh violence in DRC’s Ituri province – five times the usual number of arrivals. Most of them are women and children.
It says most of the refugees crossed Lake Albert on fishing boats to arrive in Sebagoro, 270 kilometres northwest of the Ugandan capital Kampala.
The DRC has been rid by violence since August 2016, as muslim and Christian rebel groups clash against each other.
The war in the country has been fueled by heightened political tension sparked by the failure by President Joseph Kabila to step down at the end of his term in November 2016.
As the UNHCR continues to receive refugees in Uganda, it has bemoaned a lack of adequate funding, and has urged for more funding to meet the needs of the fleeing Congolese nationals.
Uganda currently hosts the largest number of refugees in Africa; about 1.4 million.
Among them, the number of Congolese reaches 231,500. Most have fled violence in North Kivu, a region plagued by chronic instability in DRC’s east.
Some Congolese refugees are also hosted in Rwanda and Tanzania, with significant flows occurring during 2017 to Angola and Zambia.
