The government has said that the Nyakabande refugee center in the Kisoro district will not reopen.
Congolese refugees who were staying at the center after fleeing fighting between the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels and Congolese troops in Rutshuru territory, North Kivu province, were told last month that they could either move to the Nakivale Settlement center or go back home.
Temporary buildings that had been set up at the holding center were also taken down by district officials.
But thousands of refugees entered the country last week, forcing the authorities in Kisoro district to temporarily reopen the holding center.
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But Esther Anyakun, Minister of State for Relief, Disaster Preparedness, and Refugees, said on Tuesday that re-opening the Nyakabande holding center is impossible.
Anyakun says it costs a lot to take care of refugees at the Nyakabande holding center, but some of the refugees escaped from the Nakivale settlement area in the Isingiro District.
Anyakuna said that the refugees either accept relocation or remain in the DRC.
Anyakun also says that there are no funds to cater to refugees at Nyakabande.
The Communications Officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Frank Walusimbi, says that the agency is having trouble getting enough money to help refugees at both the Nyakabande holding and transit centers.
According to Walusimbi, UNHCR has been spending close to USD 500,000 per month on the refugees at Nyakabande. He also says that their request to humanitarian groups for USD 68 million to help them help refugees has not yet led to any results.
