Overland borders opened into Sierra Leone

Guinea has opened its border crossing points into Sierra Leone, making it possible for thousands of Sierra Leone refugees to take a more direct route home, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said in Geneva on Tuesday. The Guinean measure, agreed to on Friday, enables refugees to cross into northern and eastern parts of Sierra Leone, reducing travel time from five to three days, he said. Till now, returning refugees had to travel first to the Guinean capital, Conakry, then by boat to Freetown, the Sierra Leonean capital. The opening of the overland crossings will double to 1,000 the number of Sierra Leoneans returning home each week, the UNHCR reported. The first road convoy, due to leave Guinea on Saturday, will travel from the refugee camps in Kissidougou to Port Loko, some 60 km northeast of Freetown. UNHCR reported that its officials and senior members of the government were due to visit refugee hosting zones and border regions to inform military and civilian authorities of the road repatriation plan. They will also discuss administrative details such as the types of documents the travelling refugees will need. With the end of the 10-year Sierra Leonean civil war, thousands of its refugees in Guinea and Liberia have started to return home. UNHCR reported that some 15,000 refugees in Guinea's Kissidougou area camps recently registered for repatriation. "Most of them say they want to go to Sierra Leone to vote during presidential elections set for May," UNHCR reported. "Ninety percent of the refugees who have so far registered to go back originate form the east of Sierra Leone."