Return delayed for 120,000 refugees

Eighteen months after fleeing across the riverine border separating the two Congos, some 120,000 refugees seem to have little prospect of returning home soon.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) had scheduled an organized repatriation from the northern Likouala region Republic of Congo to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Equateur Province in late April, but this was indefinitely postponed because of logistical and financial issues.

“Some areas [in Equateur] are only accessible via the Ubangi river; others can only be reached by footpath,” UNHCR said in a recent statement.

The exodus from DRC took place in late 2009 following conflicts overnatural resources, such as fish ponds, between the Enyele and Munyaza communities.

For more information: http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=92712