Geneva - The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Ms Sadako Ogata, yesterday accused the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo of violating international accords by expelling Rwandan refugees at the weekend.
In a statement from her Geneva headquarters, Ms Ogata said the operation, which she said involved 830 people, mainly women and children, marked a new turn in a worsening situation for refugees in the former Zaire.
The statement said the Congo government, headed by President Laurent Kabila who took over in May after his rebel forces drove President Mobutu Sese Seko from power, had announced it had repatriated more than 4,000 Rwandans from the Goma region in eastern Congo.