First repatriation convoy to use new land routes

The first repatriation convoy of 500 Sierra Leonean returnees to use new land routes from Guinea to Sierra Leone is expected to arrive on Saturday, UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond said at Friday's press briefing in Geneva. The 151 refugee families, who left Boreah Camp in the Kissidougou area of southwestern Guinea on Thursday, are bound for Port Loko some 62 km north of the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, he said. The convoy marks the first time UNHCR has returned refugees from Guinea by land and follows a 15 March agreement with the Guinean authorities to open four border crossings for repatriation. The refugee agency now plans to organise twice-weekly convoys for up to 1,000 refugees, Redmond said. Another 500 per week continue to return by sea in a programme that has been running since December 2000. About 15,000 refugees in Guinean camps have registered for repatriation, UNHCR reported. Another 8,900 Sierra Leonean refugees in neighbouring Liberia have so far returned home from camps around the capital, Monrovia, the agency said.