UNHCR begins transfer of refugees

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has begun to transfer more than 7,000 newly arrived Liberian refugees from Guinea's southeastern border to safer inland camps as more refugees trickled in after fleeing violence in northeastern Liberia. Over the weekend of 29-30 March, thousands of Liberian refugees fled to Guinea to escape renewed fighting between government forces and rebels of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) in Ganta town, Gbarnga, northeastern Liberia, UNHCR said in a news release on Wednesday. The first wave of refugees reached Guinea's southern border with Liberia on Saturday [29 March] morning, some of them with gunshot wounds, the statement quoted UNHCR's Deputy Representative in Guinea, Pirjo Dupuy, as saying. Earlier estimates by local authorities that some 15,000 Liberian refugees had arrived in Guinea had now been revised to half that number. "These initial estimates have been revised by the authorities who now assess that there could be some 7,000 new arrivals," Dupuy said. A UNHCR team that went on Monday to the town of Baala, some 5 km from the border to verify reports of new arrivals found thousands of refugees at an old transit centre that was set up by UNHCR in 1998 to facilitate the repatriation of Liberian refugees. The centre was closed in 2000 when repatriation was suspended. However its capacity of 700 people had been outstretched by the new arrivals, many clearly traumatised and exhausted by their ordeal, Dupuy said. Refugees shot at The refugees told the team that they had been shot at as they escaped to Guinea. Injured refugees, some with gunshot wounds, had been treated at the Baala transit centre. Gunfire could still be heard from across the border in Liberia, the team added. Refugees also said there was some screening being carried out on the Liberian side of the border as people fleeing the fighting massed on the border to cross into Guinea. Some people were prevented from leaving, they said. "From their accounts, it is not clear who was doing the screening on the Liberian side and who was targeted," Dupuy added. On Monday, the agency started registering refugees at Baala, who numbered about 4,000. The majority of those registered were Liberians, although there were also scores of Ivorians and Sierra Leoneans, it noted. UNHCR was putting up hangars to shelter the new arrivals and installing additional water and sanitation facilities. Thousands more refugees scattered in various locations along the border were being moved to the centre by military personnel patrolling border areas. Inter-agency mission comes under fire Meanwhile, on Sunday a UN inter-agency mission visited Diecke border entry-point which is opposite Ganta near the Guinea-Liberia border, in an attempt to establish a clear overview of the situation, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Guinea office said on Thursday in its humanitarian situation report. The mission, however, came under fire from the Liberian side of the border and was forced to retreat prematurely. No injuries occurred, it said. In attempt to escape the fighting a number of refugees, including several children had drowned as they tried to swim across the Macona river on the border between Guinea and Liberia at Diecke-Ganta border crossing. It was unclear how many civilians were currently trapped in areas around Gbarnga and Ganta in Liberia. Guinean authorities, OCHA said, had ordered the area around Diecke to be immediately cleared for refugees as a precondition for allowing more people to enter the country. Facilitating the necessary transport of the caseload to shelter facilities further inland would take several days, OCHA noted, adding that the general security situation around Diecke border point was reported to be extremely volatile. Coordination and response Despite limited resources, government authorities, UN and international and national NGOs were providing emergency assistance to the refugees, OCHA said. The current conditions were minimal with regards to water, sanitation, shelter and food. The activities by different agencies included relocation, provision of high-energy biscuits, provision of non-food items such as jerrycans and blankets, vaccination against measles, establishment of a mobile clinic, and reunification of separated children.