United Nations Radio

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, is set to transfer internally displaced people in the Kibati camps north of Goma, the capital of the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The agency says that the first transfers to four camps on the outskirts of Goma will include children, the sick and the elderly as well as other vulnerable people.

According to UNHCR spokesman William Spindler the final decision on the start of the transfer will be made in Goma today.

"Tens of thousands of displaced Congolese civilians in the Kibati camps are in a dangerous situation as the warring parties remain in close proximity. We fear that the civilians population, already in a dramatic and desperate humanitarian situation, could be caught in the crossfire should the fighting resume in the area."

Meanwhile, UNHCR and its partners have intensified the pace of building the camp site on the hardened lava rock in a place called Mugunga III.

The agency says that the first 16 communal centres have already been constructed and building of other essential structures is progressing well.

Diane Bailey, United Nations

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