---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 15:44:59 -0700
From: Charlotte Utting <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [wa-afr] FW: Threat of Widening War in West Africa; 400,
000 Refugees in Guinea Are Vulnerable
----------
From: [log in to unmask]
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 23:50:16 +0200
To: "International Health" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Threat of Widening War in West Africa; 400,000 Refugees in Guinea
Are Vulnerable
Michelle M. Thompson ([log in to unmask]) has forwarded you this document
from the ReliefWeb Site.
This document unfortunately does not address completely the dire
situation facing refugees in Guinee. Lansana Conte is fueling the
anti-refugee stance and has stated that he wants ALL refugees from
Liberia and Sierra Leone rounded up and put in camps. I have
friends whose family members in Conakry describe the terror and
uncertainty that they face daily. Many of these so-called refugees
have lived and worked in Conakry for many years, since before the
wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone began. Let's hope that Guinee
will not be another crisis in West Africa.
-------------------------------------------
Source: US Committee for Refugees
Date: 10/19/00
Threat of Widening War in West Africa; 400,000 Refugees in Guinea Are
Vulnerable
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The West African country of Guinea - which has hosted more refugees than
any other country in Africa for much of the past decade - finds itself
edging closer to the brink of war.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR) calls on the international community
to respond with greater urgency to the deteriorating security and
humanitarian situation in Guinea, and to take all necessary steps to
protect an estimated 400,000 refugees from other countries who live in
Guinea and face special protection problems. A USCR policy analyst is
currently in the region to assess the growing dangers.
Guinea, bordering the war-ravaged countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia,
has suffered 15 insurgent attacks that have killed some 360 people during
the past year, according to the Guinean government. The attacks are
believed to have come from Liberia and Sierra Leone. Uncounted numbers of
Guineans have become internally displaced in the widening violence, and the
number of uprooted people could grow if attacks continue.
Guinean troops allege that they shot down a Liberian military helicopter
yesterday along the border between the two countries. Liberian officials
deny the incident occurred. The governments of Guinea and Liberia have
regularly accused each other of supporting armed attacks in border areas.
The newest allegations, true or not, are certain to heighten military
tensions and will create greater risks for residents and refugees who
inhabit border villages and camps.
The widening cross-border violence has begun to destabilize Guinea and has
triggered a violent backlash in recent weeks against the hundreds of
thousands of Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees who have sought
protection in Guinea from years of bloodshed in their own countries. After
years of relative hospitality toward refugees on their soil, Guinean
authorities and segments of Guinean society increasingly blame the refugee
population for bringing the violence of Sierra Leone and Liberia into
Guinea.
Guinean officials currently accuse Sierra Leonean refugees of harboring
Sierra Leone's notorious Revolutionary United Front rebels - a dubious
accusation given that the refugees originally fled to Guinea to escape
those same rebels. Refugees in Guinea have suffered a series of violent
attacks, rapes, detentions, and Guinean government-sponsored anti-refugee
propaganda since September. Humanitarian aid and protection for the
refugees have virtually ceased since a UN relief worker was killed in
Guinea Sept. 17 in a cross-border attack from Liberia.
Although tensions have risen dramatically in recent weeks, the potential
for widening violence was apparent a full year ago. A USCR report in
November 1999 warned that the "potential for additional security incidents
remains high, particularly in border areas and refugee zones of Guinea....
Odds are high that security incidents will occur in 2000." USCR warned last
November that many refugees living in Guinea "have encountered increased
harassment and detention by Guinean police and military, including
detentions, physical threats, and demands for bribes."
One of the largest international humanitarian agencies operating in Guinea,
the International Rescue Committee (IRC), reported Monday that "hospitality
toward refugees has run dangerously low" in Guinea and warned that "without
immediate assistance, refugees in Guinea face widespread food shortages."
IRC and other relief agencies have temporarily suspended most emergency aid
programs in Guinea because of security concerns.
"We need assurances of security for refugee and local Guinean populations
along the border, and safe access to refugee populations," IRC reported.
"The government of Guinea has the responsibility to ensure the safety of
refugee populations and humanitarian operations."
USCR concurs with the IRC recommendations. The Guinean government and the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should immediately identify
acceptable new sites in Guinea to transfer refugee camps away from their
current dangerous border locations. USCR urges the UN refugee agency to
assign - immediately - additional high-level emergency staff to Guinea to
augment the efforts of UNHCR's depleted relief contingent in the country.
International donors, including the U.S. State Department's refugee bureau,
should immediately pledge the $13 million or more that UNHCR needs to
strengthen its staff in Guinea and to establish safer new refugee camps
there. The U.S. government, which currently has U.S. military personnel in
Guinea helping to train Guinean troops, should press Guinean authorities to
discipline their own troops and civilian militia and should push Guinean
authorities to provide proper protection to refugees on Guinean soil.
Contact: Jeff Drumtra (202) 347-3507
Copyright 2000, USCR
-------------------------------------------
For more information on this emergency, see http://www.reliefweb.int
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