DR Congo villages report invasion by "Mbororo" nomads

Up to 10 villages in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) have been invaded by Africa's nomadic pastoralists known as "Mbororo".

The administrator of Haut-Uele district, Afunde Afungenda, confirmed this information to the press on Monday, listing part of the villages affected as Mangbele, Boyime, Mangbetu, Okondo, Malingindo and Ndolomo.

All of the villages are situated in Niangara territory of Haut- Uele district in Orientale province.

Afunde said the "Mbororo" from Poko territory in Haut Uele district had unilaterally occupied the lands of the natives, who fled elsewhere.

He called on the government to find an urgent solution protect the locals from invaders.

The "Mbororo" appeared in the Central African country in the early 1980s through Equateur province from the Central African Republic.

They were chased away from the Congolese territory by the army of the late president Mobutu Sese Seko before returning through Orientale province, where they have now settled since the outbreak of the armed conflicts in the Great Lakes region from 1998 to 2003, or the so-called Congo War.

These African pastoralists are estimated at 20,000. They usually carry individual arms and are held responsible for security, sanitary, economic, environmental and illegal immigration problems.

During a meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in September under the auspices of the African Union (AU), experts from Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, Sudan, the Central African Republic, DR Congo, as well as representatives of the nomads from Sahel countries, pointed out the need for DR Congo to repatriate these nomads to their respective countries in a secure and dignified manner.

Source: Xinhua