AFRICA/CONGO DR - The Congolese Bishops express alarm for the hundred thousand Congolese expelled from Angola and forced to survive in desperate conditions in southern Congo.

Kinshasa (Fides Agency) - The Congolese Bishops express their alarm for the Congolese people driven out of Angola (see Fides April 21st and April 26th, 2004). DIA Catholic Agency says that Bishops of the Ecclesiastic Province of Kasai (in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo) have made an appeal to the international community’s solidarity to succour the tens of thousands of Congolese expelled from Angola. The displaced are presently gathered in camps in the dioceses of Lwebo and Lwiza. Only in the area around Tshikapa there should be 52,511 people living in miserable conditions.
The Bisops asked for an inquiry over the summary executions of adults and even children during expulsion operations.
Caritas Congo has made an appeal to all its partners for help in facing this tragic humanitarian situation. AIDS contagion, and the spreading of endemic diseases, such as cholera, is particularly feared. There are no shelters and there are many difficulties in reinstating the refugees into the places they came from.
In December 2003, the Angolan government started to expel thousands of Congolese who were living and working illegally in the local diamond industry. The UN Office for Humanitarian Affaires Coordination says Congolese expelled from Angola could range from 80,000 to 100,000 people. The Angolan government has temporarily stopped expulsion of illegal immigrants from its territory. (LM) (Fides Agency 3/6/2004 23 lines 252 words)