Gabon is seeking international help to provide for Congolese refugees who have been pouring into its southern provinces, Gabonese Africa No. 1 radio has reported.
It said Gabonese Prime Minister Jean-Francois Ntoutoume-Emane met
separately with ambassadors for two days last week, seeking help. Refugees fleeing fighting between guerrillas and government troops in the Republic of Congo now number 10,000 in the Gabon, the radio said.
When, on 5-7 July, the UNHCR, the World Health Organisation and the Gabonese Red Cross went on a mission to the southern province of Nyanga, they found some 2,000 refugees there.
UNICEF had reported that the refugees were generally in a fair condition of health but that there were "several cases" of malnutrition and a lack of safe drinking water.
A UNHCR official told IRIN on Monday that the refugee agency distributed drugs and US $5,000 worth of food to the refugees in Nyanga in early July.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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