Angolans arrive in Congo

GENEVA, Aug. 10 (UNHCR) - An estimated 5,000 Angolans fleeing renewed fighting in their country have arrived in the Bas-Congo region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the U.N. Refugee Agency reported Friday.

A UNHCR mission to the region was told that thousands of civilians fled from their homes when rebel forces of the UNITA movement attacked the town of Beu, 20 kilometres from the border, on Aug. 3.

Four successive groups of Angolans crossed into Congo in recent days, among them some wounded Angolan soldiers who were being cared for by local authorities. A further 3,000 refugees were thought to be en route to the border.

Around five percent of the children under five among the refugees were diagnosed by the UNHCR team as being malnourished. Authorities asked the agency to help move the refugees away from the border as quickly as possible.