DAR ES SALAAM (March 23) XINHUA -
The flow of refugees from the war- ravaged Democratic Republic of the Congo
and Burundi has drastically dropped in the last two weeks, according to
officials in Tanzania's western Kigoma Region.
They were quoted by the Guardian newspaper
as saying on Thursday that after being overwhelmed by daily arrivals of
up to 300 refugees at the height of clashes between rebel and government
forces in both Burundi and the DRC, refugees were trickling in at an average
of two a day in recent weeks.
According to sources in Kigoma, between March 9 and 19, no new refugee was registered at the two major reception centers of Kibirizi and Kibondo.
While at the Mugunzu reception center in the same region, only 253 new arrivals from Burundi were recorded during the first week of this month.
Local officials attributed the drop of refugee arrivals to what they described as a "restoration of stability" in Burundi and the DRC.
Copyright (c) 2000 Comtex Scientific
Corporation
Received by NewsEdge Insight: 03/23/2000 02:22:56