Thousands flee homes after new Congo offensive: UN
Thousands of people have fled their homes and more could soon follow as a result of a new military offensive in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that tensions have grown in Congo's South Kivu province since last week's start of a Congolese-Rwandan operation to crush Rwandan Hutu rebels in North Kivu.
About 5,000 people fled the Makobola area in South Kivu after a militia opposing the joint offensive blocked a main road there, UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said.
And some 1,300 Congolese refugees have crossed into Uganda to flee fighting in North Kivu in the past four days, with more expected in their wake, he told a news briefing in Geneva.
"The majority of them are women and children," Redmond said. "We are concerned that the growing tensions and the blockage ... could force more displacement."
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