Botswana refugee camp faces abuse claims

Refugees detained at the Francistown Centre for Illegal Immigrants have accused prison officials of a pattern of ill-treatment including regular assaults and a failure to act on reports that boys as young as nine have been sexually abused. They claim their children were confined alongside prisoners convicted of serious crimes, including murder and rape. The government has issued a blanket denial of the allegations. Many of the refugees have fled war and explosive ethnic rivalries in the Great Lakes region, where more than 1m people have been displaced over the past two years. The refugee influx into southern Africa has been spurred by militia-based violence in DRC. Xenophobic attacks in South Africa have also swollen refugee numbers. The Daily Maverick reports that several cases of abuse at the centre have been reported to the Botswana authorities and to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Gaborone. UNHCR noted that 'the detention of the asylum seekers and refugees has a serious and lasting effect on individuals and families'.