Africa-Press – Angola. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) began this Wednesday a new voluntary repatriation of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), sheltered in the center of Lóvua, Lunda Norte province, since 2017.
According to a note from the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),Wednesday, on the first day of this process, 72 refugees left by flight towards the provinces of Kinshasa.
According to the note, the flights used for repatriation are operated by the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), adding that on the other side of the border, they will be received by UNHCR, together with DRC authorities and partners.
With the resumption of voluntary repatriation, the note continues, more refugees may express an interest in returning.
These refugees are part of an initial group of 35,000 people who, in 2017, sought protection in the province of Lunda Norte, in Angola, after fleeing acts of violence in the Kasai region, in the DRC.
The voluntary repatriation of refugees began in 2019, but ended up being suspended in 2020, due to the poor condition of the roads, the bridge over the Kasai River and COVID-19.
The process was resumed last year, after the reopening of the borders between the two countries.
Currently, more than six thousand refugees are sheltered in the Lóvua settlement.
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