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Rwanda police arrest 23 for violence related to refugee camp

Xinhua,May 02, 2018 Adjust font size:

KIGALI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The Rwandan police on Tuesday arrested 23 people for violence related to Kiziba Refugee Camp in western Rwanda, said the police.

The Kiziba camp is one of the five refugee camps in Rwanda. Established in 1996, the camp hosts over 17,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), around 77 percent of which are women and children, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Several refugees resorted to violence, throwing stones and attacking police officers with sharp objects, leading to the arrest of 23 individuals who were handed over to relevant authorities for investigations, the police said late Tuesday on its twitter handle.

The police said that they are working to restore calm and order to the camp in partnership with different stakeholders.

The arrest follows Monday's announcement made by the Rwandan government of dissolving the refugees' executive committee at Kiziba Refugee Camp to normalize the situation in the camp following its recent unrest.

Local media reported the Rwandan police increased its presence around Kiziba refugee camp last week, while Police Spokesperson Theos Badege then said it was regular patrol.

Humanitarian operations in Rwanda remain "severely underfunded," forcing the World Food Programme (WFP) to cut food rations for refugees by 10 percent in November 2017 and by 25 percent in January 2018, according to UNHCR.

UNHCR's 2018 appeal for 98.8 million U.S. dollars to support refugees in Rwanda is "only 2 percent funded," the UN refugee agency said in February.

In February, five people were killed and 22 others wounded as protests over reduced food rations by refugees from the Kiziba refugee camp turned violent, according to the police.

But Rwanda's Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said in March protests were caused by different purposes.

The refugees were not only protesting the reduced food rations -- some also wanted to return to home country or to be resettled in Europe and America while maintaining Rwandan citizenship, she said. Enditem

 

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