More than 60,000 Congolese refugees have fled to Uganda, the Uganda Red Cross said Sunday, following fresh clashes in the central African nation, dpa reported. The Red Cross said there was an urgent need for money and emergency supplies - including tents, water tanks and food - to meet the humanitarian needs of the refugees. They are entering through the Bundibugyo border area and temporarily staying in local schools and villages, the aid agency said. Ugandan military forces say the surge is because of renewed fighting between Congolese government forces and Ugandan dissidents, called the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). The ADF is an insurgent group that Kampala claims has ties to Somalia's Islamist militia, al-Shabaab. The ADF has been waging a low-intensity insurgency against Uganda since the 1990s.
