By AFPMore by this AuthorKINSHASA,Thousands of people fleeing violence in South Sudan have crossed the border into northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN said on Wednesday. "According to village chiefs, 5,000 refugees have arrived in several border villages near the town of Ingbokolo, in Ituri province," a spokesman for the UN's peacekeeping mission MONUSCO said. The HCR [UN High Commissioner for Refugees] has sent additional personnel to Ituri to register the refugees and help in their possible transfer," the spokesman said. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, becoming the 193rd member of the UN. The DRC hosts more than half a million refugees from Rwanda, South Sudan and the Central African Republic, while at least 800,000 Congolese have taken refuge abroad, according to the latest UNHCR figures.

Source: Daily Nation February 14, 2019 06:00 UTC