UNHCR condemns Dzaleka grenade attack
The United Nations Refugee Agency-UNHCR has condemned a grenade attack at Dzaleka Refugee Camp.
Five people were injured when an objected suspected to be a grenade exploded near the main market.
On Wednesday evening Dowa police received a report of an apparent explosion that had injured several people.
According to the district’s police spokesperson Gladson M’bumpha, the suspect a Rwandan refugee Umoton John Peter who is currently in custody allegedly threw a grenade at Buyoti Feeling, leader of the Burundi community in the camp.
It is reported that on the night of the incident 54-year-old Feeling, was outside of his office chatting with his secretary.
Suddenly, Feeling saw the accused throw an unknown object which he suspects to be a grenade.
It then exploded and injured four people including an 11-year-old minor who was passing by.
Three of the injured who are in critical condition have since been referred to Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe for specialized treatment.
The UNHCR representative in Malawi Kouame Modeste, visited Dowa district hospital to show support to those that were wounded and their families.
The organisation is also supporting those affected and their families with food and non-food items as well as psychological counselling.
Modeste has since urged the authorities to strive towards bringing the perpetrators to book and pledged his organisation’s support to ensure that investigations are swiftly conducted.
M’bumpha has told Capital FM that investigations are ongoing.
“We are interviewing him {Peter} on the motive of the attack so that he can shade more light on what really happened.
The Police officers are still on the ground in making sure that the security is back to normal at Dzaleka camp as we are conducting patrols day and night,” Mbumpha explained.
Dzaleka refugee camp was opened in 1994 and designed to accommodate between 10,000 to 12,000 refugees and asylum seekers.
However, the camp currently hosts 56,304 refugees and asylum seekers.
It is estimated that about 8,000 refugees and asylum seekers are currently living in rural and urban areas throughout the country.
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