YAOUNDE, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Cameroonian authorities, officials from the Central African Republic (CAR) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) met on Tuesday to discuss the relaunch of the voluntary repatriation of CAR refugees.
"We are looking at practical arrangements. We will review the shortcomings and find solutions to ensure that refugees return voluntarily and safely to the Central African Republic," Cameroon's Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji said during the tripartite meeting in the capital Yaounde.
He added that more than 28,000 CAR refugees have voluntarily returned home since the repatriation process began in 2019.
CAR's Minister of Humanitarian Action, Solidarity and National Reconciliation Josiane Lina Bemaka-Soui said that about 27,000 refugees are expected to be repatriated this year, starting with "those in situations of absolute need."
According to the UNHCR, Cameroon currently hosts about two million people of concern, including one million internally displaced persons (IDPs), 460,000 refugees and asylum seekers, and 466,000 IDP returnees.
Most refugees are from the Central African Republic and Nigeria, while the majority of IDPs come from Cameroon's Far North, Northwest and Southwest regions.
