KAMPALA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — More than 8,000 Congolese have so far crossed into Uganda following rebel attacks in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an update report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office said here on Tuesday.

The fleeing of the Congolese is attributed to a Dec. 25 attack by a Ugandan rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in areas of Kamango and Kikingi in the eastern DRC. There was subsequent fighting involving the Congolese army and UN intervention brigade.

The ADF has bases in the eastern DRC and in the recent past it has launched attacks on civilian populations.

“Most of the refugees are staying in the community while some 2, 600 are registered at Bubukwanga transit center in Bundibugyo district,” said the report.

The transit site was opened in mid-July to accommodate the initial influx from similar fighting in and around Kamango that began on July 11, 2013.There are some 2,200 Congolese at Nyakabande Transit Center in southwestern Uganda and some 3,000 recently arrived Congolese in the Koboko area in northwestern Uganda.