About 6,000 civilians fled from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighboring Uganda. The reason for this is the M23 rebel movement’s attacks on civilians and military installations in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Uganda Red Cross said today.
The refugees are in a temporary camp in Bunagana, and more people are expected, said Red Cross spokeswoman Irene Nakasita of the dpa.
The landlocked East African country of Uganda, with 44 million people, is already home to around 1.5 million refugees from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The M23 movement consists of former Congolese army soldiers who split in 2012 and formed a rebel group.
According to the United States, around 130 different armed groups are believed to be active in the east of the country; many of them are concerned with controlling valuable natural resources. The Democratic Republic of Congo with its approximately 90 million inhabitants is rich in natural resources such as copper, cobalt, gold and diamonds.