Authorities, NGOs assist returnees from Guinea-Bissau

Regional authorities and non-governmental organisations in Ziguinchor, the main town in Casamance, southern Senegal, have begun helping over 50 former refugees who fled Guinea-Bissau on Monday. NGO sources told IRIN on Tuesday that the 53 returnees were brought to Ziguinchor by bus on Monday from the border outpost of Mpack. The former refugees, who are being accomodated at the Centre de Sauvegarde, just outside the town, were given food for three days, the source said. The group comprises mostly children accompanied by a few women. The source, who is based in Ziguinchor, said they were probably an advance party and were likely to be followed by others in the coming days. Their return followed media reports that the military in the Sao Domingos area, in the north of Guinea-Bissau, had been chasing refugees from their homes and towards the border. The reports said the military burnt some of the homes. The arrival of the returnees led the governor of Ziguinchor to call a meeting of the Cellule Régionale de Coordination pour les réfugiés, les rapatriés et les personnes déplacées, a regional structure made up of security forces, other state officials and NGOs that coordinates action in favour of refugees, IDPs and returnees.