LUANDA, Dec. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Over 870 Angolan refugees who lived in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have returned to their mother country on Dec. 1-8.

    Manuel Joao, Angola's Maquela do Zombo municipal administrator,was quoted as saying by official news agency Angop as saying on Tuesday that the majority of the refugees are from Beu commune, and the remaining from Damba.

    He referred that during the last eight months nearly 2,200 ex-refugees have returned to the country spontaneously and presented themselves at Maquela do Zombo administration.

    Joao stressed that due to the rainy season and the degraded state of the roads, the organized repatriation process will have to be halted.

    Meanwhile, he revealed that 251 DRC citizens who were practising illegal commercial activity at Maquela do Zombo municipality, were repatriated to their country in the past six months.

    More than 170,000 Angolan nationals were still seeking refuge in such African counties as the two Congos, Zambia, Namibia, SouthAfrica and Botswana, according to a United Nations report.

    The 27-year civil war had displaced 4 million Angolans with about 500,000 seeking refuge in other African countries. More than3 million of the homeless have returned home with the help of the government and UN agencies. Enditem