Tanzania's ban on refugee groups threatens efforts to protect them
DAR ES SALAAM - A move by Tanzania to ban refugees from entering the country in groups could undermine efforts to protect them and to provide humanitarian assistance, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.
Tanzania's home affairs minister, Mwigulu Nchemba, announced last week the government would no longer accept groups of refugees at the border, instead it would vet individual cases before granting refugee status.
"We will no longer allow entry to refugees who come in groups. Anyone seeking asylum has from now on to be individually assessed by the relevant authorities," Nchemba said on a visit to the western Kigoma region, according to local media.
The east African nation hosts more than 280,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi.
