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Preparations by UNHCR to move refugees camps in Guinea from border areas to locations further inland are being jeopardised by the fighting in the Guekedou area, the agency said.
UNHCR said on Thursday that its Conakry office had set up an Emergency Relocation Operation Task Force to begin preparing for the movement, “which now appears increasingly risky in view of the renewed fighting”.
Guinea’s government approved a UNHCR proposal to move 30,000 refugees from Macenta to Nzerekore, and another 80,000 from Guekedou to new sites in Kissidougou. Those already in Nzerekore are to be transferred to other sites within the same region. These sites are former camps that need to be rehabilitated.
Under the plan, Sierra Leonean refugees will be given a choice between relocating within Guinea or returning with UNHCR assistance to stable areas in Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile, the governor of Nzerekore region has informed UNHCR of plans to evacuate the entire civilian population from Thuo, across the border from Liberia’s Nimba County.
The region has reportedly been the scene of recent cross-border attacks.
UNHCR has agreed to a request by the governor to relocate refugees from Thuo to the Bossou camp, initially set up as a transit camp for repatriation to Liberia.
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
