Namibia's border curfew may block refugees fleeing fighting in Angola: UNHCR

The Namibian Government's imposition of a dusk-to-dawn curfew along the country's north-eastern border could prevent Angolan refugees fleeing the renewed fighting between government and rebel forces from seeking asylum, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today.

At a press briefing in Geneva, spokesman Kris Janowski said Namibia, along with Zambia, had been the traditional destination for Angolans escaping the 25-year old civil war between the Angolan Government and UNITA, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola.

According to the UN agency, the flow of refugees increases substantially at this time of year as opposing forces try to consolidate their positions before the start of the rainy season. The refugees, most of whom come from Angola's Cuando Cubango Province, attempt to cross the border at night or at unofficial crossing points to avoid military controls from either side of the warring parties.

In declaring its dusk to dawn curfew on 17 October, the Namibian Government invoked security concerns, including the risk of nightly incursions by UNITA fighters. The curfew applies along the 450-kilometre stretch of the Kavango River that forms the boundary between north eastern Namibia and Cuando Cubango Province in Angola. The new restrictions prohibit anyone from travelling along the 450 kilometres and within a 200-metre area along the stretch between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

According to UNHCR, the number of Angolan refugees in Namibia increased by 60 per cent last year and by another 9.5 per cent so far this year, reaching 30,380 persons by the end of September. Namibia, which in late 1999 reaffirmed its support for the Angolan Government in its fight against the rebels, has since intensified controls in border areas and arrested illegal immigrants suspected of belonging to the UNITA rebellion.

UNHCR has repeatedly asked that the rights of legitimate asylum seekers be respected in Namibia. The agency has also obtained regular access to detainees in order to identify genuine asylum seekers among them. In the first six months of 2001, it obtained the release of some 300 Angolans who were found to be genuine refugees among the 1,800 who had been arrested.