Uganda has opened part of its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo to allow in thousands of people stuck in no-man’s land for more than a month
At least 3,000 of them fled their homes in May after inter-communal clashes in north-eastern Ituri province.
But they were unable to cross into Uganda to seek safety as the country had closed its borders in March to control the spread of coronavirus.
It has been agreed the refugees will be quarantined before being settled.
This will happen for 14 days at a new isolation centre, 13km (eight miles) from the border.
The UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) says sample testing will be carried out on the group to see if coronavirus is present amongst them.
This will help authorities decide when the refugees can be transferred to camps.
Two border crossings in Uganda’s Zombo district temporarily opened on Wednesday and it is expected all the refugees will be able to cross over in three days.
Uganda hosts more than 1.4 million refugees – most have fled from South Sudan, while about 30% come from DR Congo.
