UN, Congo seek to relocate South Sudanese fighters

By Godfrey Olukya

ARU, Democratic Republic of Congo

The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and the Congolese government are looking at possibilities to relocate South Sudanese rebels to other countries, officials told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

''Those fighters entered DRC following the fighting in South Sudan between government troops and fighters royal to [opposition leader] Riek Machar.

"It was at the request of the Congolese authorities that MONUSCO intervened on purely humanitarian grounds to pick the mostly injured fighters and took them to where they could get first aid," MONUSCO spokesman Felix Prosper Basse said.

South Sudanese and Congolese authorities should come up with appropriate solutions to relocate those fighters to other countries, he added.

Jean Pembe, supervisor at the Refugees Department in eastern DRC, said that the fighters were a security risk and should be relocated.

''The South Sudanese fighters have received first aid and now they are fine. We are afraid that unless they are relocated, they may use our country as a base to attack South Sudan and that is why we want them relocated to another country," he said.

Over 500 fighters royal to former vice president of South Sudan Riek Machar fled into Garamba game park in DRC after fighting between them and government resumed about three months ago.

MONUSCO, after request from DRC government removed them from Garamba to places where they could be attended to.