Thousands Flee Fighting in Democratic Republic of Congo
Thousands of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are fleeing across the border to Angola to escape a militia uprising.
The U.N. refugee agency said 9,000 people had crossed the border already this month, about half of them children.
Many of the refugees are malnourished and in dire health upon arrival in Angola and have spent days hiding in forests before reaching the country.
They are fleeing fighting between local militias and state forces in the Kasai-Central province, which erupted last year after security forces killed a local leader. Angola said last week it was tightening the border to prevent the militias entering the country, promising to treat refugees humanely.
The U.N. fears that living and health conditions for refugees in Angola will deteriorate amid the April wet season.
“The new arrivals are terrified and still fear for their lives and mentioned they do not have any immediate plans to return home,” UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said. “Some parents have reportedly sent their children across the border, worrying they would be forcibly recruited by the militias if they had stayed in the DRC.”
Sicily Prosecutor Claims Evidence of NGO-Smuggler Collusion
Sicilian prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro told an Italian newspaper that his investigation has turned up evidence of contacts between NGOs rescuing people at sea and people smugglers.
Zuccaro launched the fact-finding investigation in February, fueling accusations from some right-wing politicians that the rescue workers are to blame for the surge in refugee boats.
“We have evidence that there are direct contacts between certain NGOs and people traffickers in Libya,” Zuccaro told La Stampa newspaper.
“We do not yet know if and how we could use this evidence in court, but we are quite certain about what we say; telephone calls from Libya to certain NGOs, lamps that illuminate the route to these organisations’ boats, boats that suddenly turn off their (locating) transponders, are ascertained facts,” he said.
NGOs operating in the Mediterranean vehemently deny the allegations. Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni has spoken out against criminalizing NGOs. They “save lives and should be thanked,” he said.
German Recognition Rate for Afghan Refugees Plunges by 30 Percent
Germany’s recognition rate for Afghan asylum seekers has dropped from around 78 percent in 2015 to about 48 percent in the first two months of this year, according to German media.
Germany rejected 14,403 of 27,639 asylum applications from Afghans in January and February this year, Passauer Neue Presse German newspaper reported.
In 2016, Germany approved around 60 percent of Afghan asylum applications.
Germany has stepped up deportations of rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan, with a fifth plane of Afghans set to head back on April 24. Rights groups have raised concerns about sending asylum seekers back to the violence-wracked nation.
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