United Nations Radio

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has airlifted emergency relief items from South Africa to Angola to help tens of thousands of Angolans expelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo last month.

Angolan refugees

UNHCR says the Boeing 747 from Johannesburg arrived in the Angolan capital, Luanda, over the weekend carrying thousands of tents, sleeping mats, and blankets, as well as a pre-fabricated warehouse.

The agency says the supplies were released from its regional stockpile in Durban in response to a request from the Angolan Government.

Citing Angolan authorities, UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic says there are now 50,000 Angolans who were expelled from the Congo and those who have returned on their own in the wake of the expulsions.

"Most of those expelled had refugee status in the DRC. Many were not given an opportunity to collect their personal belongings before being forced back to Angola. They are now living in extremely difficult conditions. In one place visited by UNHCR last week, Kitumu in Uige province, we found some 500 people sleeping on the cement floor of an old school building without sleeping mats or mattresses."

Andrej Mahecic says the returnees' stress is exacerbated, because many became separated from family members during the expulsions.

UNHCR says three weeks ago it visited another group of some 30,000 forcibly-returned Angolans in the Mbaza Congo area of Zaire province and found that they needed shelter, water, medication, and food.

Gail Walker, United Nations Radio
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