At least 651 Congolese nationals have crossed the border into Rwanda, seeking refuge from the volcanic earthquakes in the North Kivu province in eastern DR Congo. They are currently settled in a camp in Busasamana Sector of the border district of Rubavu. The refugees said they came running from tremors shaking villages in the aftermath of the eruption of Nyiragongo volcano. There are still tremors in my village and the lava has not yet cooled down; we had no choice but to flee. I came with my kids, Ukobizoba Nyirahabimana told The New Times on her arrival from Kanyanja village in Nyiragongo territory. Back in Kanyanja, everything has been burnt down, from crops to houses, said Louise Francine, who has a one-week-old baby. As of Tuesday evening, there were 651 men and women, including 290 children under five years old, Olivier Kayumba, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Emergency Management, told The New Times. There are 392 women and 259 men, he said. The people at the camp have access to clean water and food as well as sanitation and hygienic supplies, Kayumba said. He added that they are in talks with humanitarian aid agencies, such as United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), to ensure the refugees remain safe. Initially, the eruption of Nyiragongo on Saturday forced between 7,000 and 10,000 people to flee from eastern DR Congo. Most of them had returned home by Sunday afternoon, with less than 200 still in Rubavu. But due to sustained earthquakes, more people are crossing the Rwanda-DR Congo border for safety.
