Angolan refugees in Zambia shun repatriation

Lusaka- Zambia (PANA) -- More than 10,000 Angolan refugees at a camp in western Z ambia have declined to return home despite the restoration of peace in their cou n try, the state-run Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation reported Wednesday.
The refugees at Mayukwayukwa in Kaoma district have lived in Zambia since 1966.
The number of asylum seekers increased in the 1970s at the height of the civil w ar between the ruling MPLA and UNITA.
Kaoma district commissioner Charles Chinyama told Western province Permanent Sec retary, Ikanuke Nooyo, that it had become increasingly difficult to provide for t his large number of refugees.
Nooyo, however, said government was working hard to persuade the remaining Angol an refugees to go back.
Other Angolan refugees are camped at Nangweshi in Shang'ombo district of western province and Maheba in Northwestern province.