Fighting displaces Guineans; aid vehicles attacked

Fighting between Guinean forces and fighters from Sierra Leone has displaced at least 1,000 Guineans in the past week and angry Guinean civilians have attacked humanitarian workers assisting Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees.

"Yesterday we had reports that there was some shooting of artillery by Guinean soldiers," Abou Moussa, regional director for West and Central Africa for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told IRIN on Thursday. "But as of today we are told that things are calm, even though there may have been some displacement of the local population. People may continue to move if the fighting intensifies."

Moussa was speaking from the Guinean capital, Conakry, where he had gone to deliver a message from UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata to Guinean President Lansana Conte. Moussa said the message, which he gave to Conte on Thursday, "called for the understanding of the government and the support of the government when it comes to the treatment of refugees".

Guinean authorities, backed by militant youths, rounded up about 5,000 Liberians and Sierra Leoneans in Conakry last weekend to verify their identities. All had been released by Wednesday but beatings and rapes were reported. The detentions were triggered by three cross-border attacks in Guinea that left at least 80 people dead. One strike came within 100 km of Conakry, on the town of Pamalap. It was unclear if Guinean soldiers were beating back fighters on Guinean soil on Wednesday or whether they were defending the border.

"What is known is that the shooting by Guinean forces was in Guinean territory. Where it landed I cannot tell you," Moussa said.

Most of the shooting on Wednesday took place around the village of Famoriah, in the same region as the last attack near Pamalap. Moussa said it was increasingly difficult for humanitarian workers to help nearly 500,000 refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone camped in Guinea because of local resentment toward them. "Some of our cars have been stoned because of our allegiance to them, as an agency working with refugees," Moussa said.

He said President Conte would like to see the refugees leave Guinea, but realized they could only return once their countries of origin were peaceful. "He asked the UNHCR to impress on the international community to find a durable solution to the problem," Moussa said.

Moussa is traveling on Sunday to Mali, the current chair of the Economic Community of West African States, for talks on the border crisis. Officials from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are to meet in Mali on Friday.