George,
When it rains, it pours. While 3,000 are fleeing the fighting in Liberia,
thousands more are reported to be on the move away from Bouake where it
appears that fighting amongst the civilian population is currently underway.
The internally displaced persons in Cote d'Ivoire alone number in their
thousands, if not tens of thousands. The entire sub-region is now on the
verge of total disintegration. Niger, Nigeria and Ghana have expressed
concern about the fate of their nationals and are in the process of
evacuating them. Nigeria has announced its intention to send in troops,
pending Senate approval, to protect its citizens in CI estimated to be two
million. Burkina Faso, meanwhile, is poised, according to unconfirmed
reports, to move in to protect its citizens. Despite all these
developments, France is saying very little, at least not publicly about the
role of their troops in the country. The question being asked is are they
going to still maintain their position i.e. to protect their nationals and
provide logistical support to the Gbagbo Government or are they going to
reassess their current role in the conflict. If you ask me, reassessment is
long overdue. Cheers!!
Sidi Sanneh
----Original Message Follows----
From: "George Sarr" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [>-<] PST: 3 000 flee Liberia fighting
Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 06:31:11 -0400
3 000 flee Liberia fighting
Abidjan - Renewed fighting between rebels and government in eastern Liberia
has forced some 3 000 people to seek refuge in Sierra Leone, the United
Nations refugee agency reported on Monday.
The influx from the town of Kolahun exacerbated the refugee situation at the
border between the two countries and prompted a multi-agency relief effort
to ease the pressure there, according to the office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
"Fighting between government troops and rebels from the Liberians United for
Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) intensified around Kolahun town in upper
Lofa County, north-western Liberia, on October 2," the agency stated.
"Villagers fled and started crossing the border at Manduvulahun in Kailahun
district, eastern Sierra Leone, on Thursday. At its peak, there were up to
200 Liberians arriving every hour," it added.
The situation had reportedly stabilised by the weekend but was still tense
at the border, according to the UNHCR. United Nations military observers are
understood to be watching the situation closely.
The influx brought to 16 000 the total number of Liberian refugees waiting
to be transferred to camps in Sierra Leone from the border areas of Kailahun
District.
Some arrived as early as May but declined to be relocated to camps further
inside Sierra Leone in the hope of returning home as soon as peace was
restored in Liberia.
UNHCR said on Monday that the new arrivals appeared to be in bad condition,
with many considered to be "vulnerable cases".
Sixty two of those, including some malnourished children, were quickly
identified and referred to Kailahun hospital by the nongovernmental
humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF-France).
Many of the refugees were women and children under six, who were in dire
need of food, shelter and medical assistance, UNHCR added.
Prior to last week's arrivals, the last wave of Liberian refugees into
Sierra Leone reached a peak in June, when there were 10 000 arrivals.
Sierra Leone is now hosting some 60 000 refugees who have fled fighting in
Liberia, 46 000 of whom have arrived there this year alone.
About 38 000 in camps, 16 000 are at the border awaiting transfer to camps
and a further 8 000 live in urban areas of Sierra Leone, according to UNHCR
statistics. - IRIN
ô¿ô
~
George
--
Au Revoir
____________ __o
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