Dundo – At least 6,150 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) based in the Lóvua settlement in the north-eastern Lunda-Norte Province, maintain the desire to remain in Angola and only 50 want to return to their country of origin, the representative of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Angola, Emmanuelle Mitte, said Thursday, in Dundo.
She was speaking at the end of the audience with the governor of Lunda-Norte, Deolinda Satula Vilarinho.
According to her, UNHCR currently controls 9,000 refugees, of which 6,200 are in the Lóvua settlement.
She revealed that a survey is taking place in the settlement to find out how many refugees want to be repatriated this year, and so far 50 have been found to have this desire, adding that the voluntary and organized repatriation of those wishing to return to their country of origin will be carried out after the ongoing investigation in the settlement.
In turn, UNHCR's Regional Director for Southern Africa, Ms Chansa Kapaya, said that the audience with the governor of Lunda-Norte helped to find difficult solutions for the social and economic reintegration of refugees.
She praised the actions of the Angolan government in favor of the security and social and economic reintegration of refugees.
In May 2017, an initial group of 35,000 DRC citizens arrived in the province of Lunda Norte, fleeing acts of violence in the Kassai area, a crisis that led to the declaration of an emergency situation.
Currently, UNHCR controls 6,200 refugees in the Lóvua camp and three million in the city of Dundo, the rest have been repatriated in their country of origin.
HD/MRA/jmc
