The number of people displaced by conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, mainly in the volatile Kasai region, has nearly doubled in the past six months to 3.8 million, a United Nations official has said.
George Okoth-Obbo, the number two official at the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR), said yesterday that food and clothing was needed for the 1.4 million in Kasai who have fled their homes in violence that has killed more than 3,000 people.
"Immediate protection" was required, he said in particular for children "who are sleeping in conditions that are difficult to imagine".
In addition, about 33,000 Congolese have fled Kasai for Angola, and "the conditions today in Kasai are such that we cannot encourage or promote the return of refugees," Okoth- Obbo said.
At the same time, the country is also having to cope with the arrival of about 500,000 refugees fleeing fighting in Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Central African Republic -- where about 60,000 people have fled to DR Congo this year, he said.
George Okoth-Obbo, the number two official at the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR), said yesterday that food and clothing was needed for the 1.4 million in Kasai who have fled their homes in violence that has killed more than 3,000 people.
"Immediate protection" was required, he said in particular for children "who are sleeping in conditions that are difficult to imagine".
In addition, about 33,000 Congolese have fled Kasai for Angola, and "the conditions today in Kasai are such that we cannot encourage or promote the return of refugees," Okoth- Obbo said.
At the same time, the country is also having to cope with the arrival of about 500,000 refugees fleeing fighting in Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Central African Republic -- where about 60,000 people have fled to DR Congo this year, he said.
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What a mess the European capitalist states have made of the continent of Africa with their creation, indeed imposition of the nation state upon indigenous populations -- each more-or-less having their own natural boundaries and independent organization.
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