Thousands "waiting out the fighting" by Gabonese border

The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has sent additional staff to Tchibanga in southwestern Gabon and will open a second office in Franceville, to the east, in response to the recent arrival of thousands of refugees from Congo-Brazzaville, the agency's spokesman Kris Janowski said on Tuesday. Janowski said the number of refugees had not grown significantly since the first groups crossed into Gabon in early July, but missions to entry points had been told of "tens of thousands" of Congolese who are "waiting out the fighting" in Congo (Brazzaville) in the dense forest on both sides of the border with Gabon.

The Congolese towns of Mbinda, Mayoko and Mossendjo were reported to be crowded with displaced people escaping battles which began around Brazzaville, while many families are said to have been split up during the flight, he said. UNHCR quoted refugees entering Gabon as saying they had witnessed atrocities against civilians by the militias fighting the national army.

Around 10,000 refugees are now grouped on temporary sites or have made their way to Libreville, it said. UNHCR is planning to borrow from its West African stocks to send two freight containers of emergency relief supplies by the end of the month, Janowski said, adding that in addition to UNHCR staff, the NGO Handicap International had sent a humanitarian team to Gabon.