Over 900 Refugees evacuated from Nyakabande Refugee Camp in Kisoro

Kisoro, (UG):- The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has evacuated over 990 Refugees from Nyakabande refugee camp to Nakivale Resettlement Camp in Isingiro District.

This comes shortly after it was reported that there was congestion of refugees in the camp that eventually resulted in poor sanitation and inadequate accommodation space.

The evacuated refugees are the newest batch of asylum seekers who fled the DRC conflict between Congolese government forces and M23 rebels.

Nyakabande UNHCR team leader, Mr Jimmy Ogwang revealed that the camp has capacity to accommodate only 2000 refugees beyond which it cannot contain hence Nakivale Refugee Camp being a suitable substitute.

Ogwang further expressed concerns about the large influx flowing into the camp amidst low food, medical care and accommodation logistics. “This evacuation is part of the plan to reduce on the overwhelming numbers we have here and we are expecting another batch of refugees in the next weeks.” 

Nyakabande Refugee Camp is strategically located in Kisoro District which shares border with DRC and it’s near Goma province where the insurrection is looming hence being easily accessed by refugees. However, Mr Jimmy Ogwang said he had received reports of misbehaviour among some refugees such as alcoholism, theft and fighting hence frustrating the evacuation efforts. 

Figures show that Uganda is a home of 1.7 million refugees with Congolese asylum seekers covering 31% second to South Sudanese asylum seekers that cover 51%.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Kikuube Resettlement Camp has the biggest refugee population in Uganda with 157,577 refugees. UNHCR figures show that Uganda has the largest refugee population in Africa and it ranks sixth in the world. 

With the increasing civil unrest in DRC and South Sudan, there has been a noticeable influx of refugees in Uganda. The Ministry of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees has expressed commitment to unconditionally hosting displaced refugees through strengthening partnerships with international refugee relief agencies such as UNHCR.