LUSAKA, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Over 500 asylum-seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) entered Zambian within a day on Wednesday, making it the biggest single entry of new arrivals in three years, the United Nations (UN) refugee agency said on Thursday.
The asylum seekers were received in the northern part of Zambia, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.
The new arrivals are in addition to a sporadic and continuous stream that has characterized refugee inflows from the neighboring DRC into Zambia over the past three years, according to a statement released by the refugee agency.
Pierrine Aylara, the UNHCR Representative to Zambia, confirmed the arrival and added that more were being hosted by local communities.
The refugee agency is currently working with local communities in conducting a head-count to ascertain exact figures as the new arrivals were entering through different border entry points, some unmanned, she added.
"We have continuously been receiving a steady inflow of new arrivals from the DRC for some time now. UNHCR together with the host government and the Zambia Red Cross Society are doing everything possible in our limited capacity to protect and assist the new arrivals pending durable solutions," she said.
The refugee agency has since called for assistance from the international community for additional funds to enable it to address the basic humanitarian needs of new arrivals.
According to UNHCR figures, over 3,000 asylum-seekers from the DRC have been received in Zambia from January 1 to August 31, with the month of August accounting for about 1,000 arrivals.
Total population of DRC asylum seekers and refugees in Zambia currently stands at 25,063 as of July 31.
Zambia currently hosts some 58,000 refugees and others of concern, mostly from Angola, DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia and Uganda.
