Banks to reopen in July

Two commercial banks, the Banco internacional da Guine-Bissau (BIG) and the Tota Agorels are to reopen on Friday in Guinea Bissau, AFP reported sources close to the ministry of finance as saying. The banks have been closed since the start of the military uprising in June 1998 that eventually led to the overthrow of President Joao Bernardo Vieira on 6 June 1999. The fighting, which was concentrated in Bissau, forced many people to flee the country and/or the capital. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Action (OCHA), there are an estimated 60,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country. Many have lost their homes: a housing survey conducted by the National Red Cross with OCHA support showed that 4,772 houses were partly or totally destroyed, affecting an estimated 43,600 people. Meanwhile, commercial flights are to resume at the Oswaldo Vieira International Airport on 7 July, AFP reported.