Angolan refugees head for DRCongo

Thousands of Angolans, fleeing an upsurge of fighting between the government and UNITA rebels, have begun crossing into the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR says some of the eighteen-thousand Angolans -- mostly civilians but also including UNITA rebels -- who have been massing at the border, have now begun to cross into Congo's South Bandundu province.

There are also reports that ten-thousand Angolans have recently arrived at the border further west.

Correspondents say aid efforts are being hampered by bad roads and a shortage of diesel fuel. A-hundred-and-seventy-thousand Angolans have already sought refuge in Congo.

The Angolan government and UNITA have been fighting intermittently since the country became independent from Portugal in 1975.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service