Zambia repatriates more than 500 Congolese refugees

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia repatriated more than 500 Congolese refugees on Wednesday, bringing to 15,660 the number of people who have returned to their home country since May, The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said.

UNHCR resident representative, James Lynch, said in a statement that 502 Congolese refugees, most of whom fled to Zambia a decade ago at the height of the civil strife in their country, left by boat from Mpulungu heading for Moba and Kalemie in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Lynch urged more Congolese refugees to come forward to be repatriate before the voluntary programme concludes at the end of this year.

"I call on more Congolese refugees to take advantage of the remaining days to repatriate. UNHCR stands ready to assist any Congolese refugee who comes forward to repatriate," Lynch said.

Zambia hosts 34,671 Congolese refugees, with 17,959 of them in the camps of Mwange and Kala in the far north of the country and in Meheba and Mayukwayukwa in the west and northwest.

In 2007, 7,323 Congolese repatriated while in 2008, 9,700 returned to DRC, Lynch said.