A massive influx of 125,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into neighboring Republic of Congo (ROC) and Central African Republic (CAR) after deadly ethnic clashes is severely stretching the meager resources of the impoverished region, the UN refugee agency reported. "There is an acute need for formal refugee sites to be established in both CAR and ROC, as the majority of the DRC refugees occupy public buildings and spaces," UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic told reporters, warning that the influx could lead to tensions with the local community. "In Mougoumba in CAR (where 17,000 people have fled, 60 per cent of them children and many from orphanages) the refugees outnumber the locals by 200 to one, while the Likouala region of northern ROC has seen its population double with the arrival of 107,000 refugees." (UN News Service)
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