UNHCR partially resumes operations

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) partially resumed its operations in Cote d'Ivoire on Wednesday, returning 100 Liberian refugees from Tabou, in the southwest, to Liberia, the agency reported. The Liberians, it said, had been waiting anxiously since Sunday and more were registering each day to return home. UNHCR had suspended its operations in Cote d'Ivoire on Sunday as a result of violent protests in the commercial capital, Abidjan, and the overall climate of insecurity. The agency had said that the suspension was a precautionary measure and that it was instructing its staff to stay at home until further notice. "On Wednesday, staff in Abidjan returned to work after days of suspended operations," UNHCR said. "The agency also resumed the emergency repatriation of Liberian refugees ... but there are no guarantees that return convoys will take place on Thursday. To ensure the safety of its staff, UNHCR will assess the security situation on a daily basis." On Tuesday, the Deputy UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mary Ann Wyrsch, had told a press briefing in Geneva: "Much of the tone will depend on President Laurent Gbagbo's [anticipated] televised speech. We are hopeful that the situation will right itself." Gbagbo was expected to deliver a keynote address to the nation this week explaining the outcome of last week's negotiations with rebels in France. Meanwhile, the United States Agency for International Development and the Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) have allocated US $433,133 for humanitarian assistance to Cote d'Ivoire in 2003, USAID said on Wednesday in a report titled: 'Cote d'Ivoire Complex Emergency Situation Report 2003'. The report said about one million Ivorians were reported to have been internally displaced as a result of the armed conflict that broke out in September. "As the crisis continues, UNICEF estimates that as many as 70,800 people, primarily women and children, will require emergency assistance by March 2003," USAID said. "Humanitarian access to the western areas of the country, particularly along the Liberian border, remains difficult". The report also described the effect of the insecurity on humanitarian activities. "The government of Cote d'Ivoire and opposition forces signed a peace agreement on January 24 in Marcoussis [France]," it said. "Despite the agreement, a ceasefire has not yet materialized. As a result of ongoing violence, all NGO expatriate staff in the western areas were evacuated to Abidjan." It added that the US Embassy had been closed temporarily as a result of unrest in Abidjan, where there had been intermittent riots since 24 January due to discontent with the terms of the Marcoussis peace agreement. The accord, whose provisions include the formation of a new government in which the rebels would occupy the defence and interior portfolios, has been opposed by pro-government pressure groups and the military. On 29 January, the Minister of the Interior announced that the agreement was unacceptable and would not be honoured by the government. The USAID report is available at: http://www.usaid.gov/