These are the first refugees to be repatriated this year, under a tripartite voluntary repatriation agreement between the governments of Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and the United Nations refugee agency.
The group left the Lóvua settlement on Wednesday morning, then took a flight to Kinshasa, in DRCongo.
“Taking into account cost control, UNHCR Angola is using aerial means for the first time during the process of repatriating refugees from Lunda Norte to the DRC. The flights are operated by the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS)”, said UNHCR in a statement.
These refugees are part of an initial group of 35,000 people who, in 2017, sought refuge in Lunda Norte to escape violence in the Kasai region, in DRCongo.
Voluntary repatriation began in 2019, but was suspended in 2020, due to the poor condition of the roads, the bridge over the Kasai River and Covid-19.
The process was resumed last year, after the reopening of the borders between the two countries, with 3,732 people repatriated between 2019 and 2022.
According to UNHCR Angola, the 2023 repatriation program will continue until all refugees from the Lóvua settlement interested in returning home this year can return.
Voluntary repatriation is also supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and partners Ajuda de Desenvolvimento de Povo para Povo (ADPP), Igreja Evangélica dos Irmãos em Angola (IEIA), Serviços Jesuíta aos Refugiados (JRS) and World Vision ( WV).
