Over 40,000 Angolans repatriated since June, UN refugee agency says

A recent return of 125 refugees brings to more than 40,000 the number of Angolans who have returned home since organized repatriation efforts began in June, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today.

Nearly half of those who have returned to date have come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a spokesman for the agency said in Geneva. Zambia is close behind with nearly 17,000 returns, followed by Namibia with more than 3,000.

“The pace of returns is now slowing down with the arrival of the rainy season in some parts of the country,” spokesman Kris Janowski told a press briefing. “UNHCR offices in Angola, the DRC and Zambia are assessing the feasibility of continuing the repatriation during the rainy season.”

The planting season has already begun in some countries hosting Angolans, and some refugees prefer to remain longer where they are and return in 2004 after the harvest, he added.