DUNDO, Angola, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Angola has created two transit centers to accommodate the 5,000 refugees stranded on the border between Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a top UNHCR official said Thursday.
Refugees from the Lovua settlement in Angola's eastern province of Lunda Norte are to be retained on the border due to a lack of reception conditions in the DRC province of Central Cassai, their final destination, said Wellington Carneiro, UNHCR's acting representative in Angola.
Carneiro said that the two transit centers were set up at the request of the Congolese authorities until conditions are created in the Congolese province.
He said that food and medical assistance are assured, and contacts are currently being made to provide transportation that will take refugees to their areas of origin this month.
Thousands of refugees have left the Lovua camp since Aug. 18, as a response to reports of improved security in some of their places of origin.
According to UNHCR, an estimated 37,000 DRC citizens fled to Angola in 2017 due to deadly clashes between armed groups and DRC forces.
