In the last month alone, more than 1,000 internally displaced persons fled from the Ituri region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Uganda. Since 2017, at least 60,000 people from the region have fled, with just over 1,000 arriving in Uganda in the last month alone. Decades-long ethnic-based violence between militias has fueled this insecurity.
Eyewitnesses from a refugee registration center in western Uganda say attacks back home are intensifying according to reporting by Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi. There, they wait to be transported farther inland to refugee settlement areas. The UN human rights office said the violence being perpetrated against the Hema may amount to crimes against humanity.
This greater influx of refugees creates a continued strain on resources for Uganda, a country that already hosts about 1.3 million refugees. The Hema and Lendu ethnic groups in northeastern Ituri province have been fighting for generations. Between 1999 and 2003 alone, tens of thousands died in clashes between the two groups.
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Author: Rachel Warner; Editor: Teagan Foti
