{{At least 60,000 refugees from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have now arrived in neighbouring Uganda after fleeing a rebel attack on a town near the border, Red Cross officials said.}}
Catherine Ntabadde of the Uganda Red Cross said on Sunday that her organisation had already registered 41,000 refugees and that 20,000 more were waiting for registration.
The numbers show a dramatic rise from earlier estimates and due to the fact the rebel attack was a surprise, the influx is stretching humanitarian capacities.
“Given such numbers there is need for urgent humanitarian assistance, as some of the refugees are sick and have left all their belongings in Congo,” said Ntabadde.
The refugee influx is continuing three days after the Ugandan rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), attacked Kamango town, killing a number of people and briefly occupying it, according to Ugandan military officials.
Refugees have streamed across the border into western Uganda’s Bundibugyo district since then, though the numbers of new arrivals crossing on Sunday had slowed to a trickle.
“Many new arrivals are also reported to be staying in the community,” United Nations refugee agency official Karen Ringuette said.
Aljazeera
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