352.000 afrikanske flygtninge vendte hjem i 2004

Some 352.000 African refugees were able to return home last year as conflicts ended in nine countries, but more than four million people are still in exile, the UN refugee agency said Monday.

The figure for returns in 2004 was an improvement on the 294.000 of the previous year, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman David Lambo said.

The UNHCR aims to repatriate a total of two million people to the nine countries over the next few years, 510.000 of them in 2005.