LUSAKA, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Zambian Vice-President Inonge Wina on Friday expressed concern that the number of asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into the country has continued rising, with most of them being vulnerable people such as pregnant women and children.
Wina said the influx of DRC nationals running away from unrest in their country has been continuous, adding that 192 pregnant have crossed into the country since the start of this year.
"We also have a large number of children, who are unaccompanied who walk all the way into Zambia. This state of affairs has created a humanitarian crisis," she said during a vice-president's question and answer session in parliament.
According to her, it was unfortunate that pregnant women and children could be forced to walk long distances but expressed happiness that the government, working with other partners has managed to accommodate them at a transit center in Nchelenge district in Luapula Province.
The government, she said, has since mobilized resources, in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) family and other partners, to take care of the situation at Kenani Transit Center where the asylum seekers were being kept.
The number of DRC asylum seekers has since risen to over 6,100 since January this year, bringing the total number of refugees and other persons of concerns in the country to about 60,000.
