DRC asylum seekers increase to 10,000 at Zambian transit center: UNHCR

LUSAKA, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The number of asylum seekers at a transit center in Nchelenge district in Zambia's Luapula Province has now passed the 10,000 mark, the UN refugee agency said on Monday.

Kenani transit center has been keeping some DRC nationals fleeing unrest from their country on a temporary basis since August this year when it was established.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Zambia office said the transit center now has some 10,065 DRC nationals.

"We passed the 10,000 mark on Saturday, and more Congolese refugees are coming from Chiengi," UNHCR Representative in Zambia Pierrrine Aylara said in a statement.

The district authorities have since agreed to expand the transit center, with the newly allocated space able to accommodate an additional 1,000 families or 5,000 individuals while efforts were underway to open a new permanent refugee settlement in the coming weeks, she added.

UNHCR was working with other partners to relocate the asylum seekers to a permanent place, she said, noting that funding might hamper timely relocation.

According to her, additional funds were required by humanitarian and development partners to repair a main access road and inner roads within the refugee settlement while other funds were required to set up basic infrastructure such as health, water and sanitation and primary education facilities.

Some 13,924 Congolese have crossed into Zambia since the beginning of 2017 through various entry points, with some relocated to refugee camps in the western part of the country. Enditem