Liberian refugees settle into new sites

The Sierra Leone government has approved the gradual transformation of sites built for returning refugees, into settlements for Liberians fleeing fighting in their country, UNHCR said in its weekly update 5-11 April.

It said 3,352 Liberian refugees were relocated from the Sierra Leonean border village of Jendema to four settlements, including facilities originally built for Sierra Leonean refugees returning from Liberia. UNHCR also assisted 2,023 Sierra Leonean spontaneous returnees.

UNHCR has been running three convoys a week from camps in Sinje and Monrovia, in Liberia. In Sierra Leone, the agency operates three convoys weekly for spontaneous returnees and Liberian refugees from Jendema, where it said some 2,000 refugees and 800 returnees were still waiting to be transported to new sites.

The UN agency said it would soon be able to monitor non-official border crossings and create a registration system for the refugees living in border villages. However, it said the influx of refugees and returnees had "decreased considerably" and that it was now monitoring the possible return of Liberians back home while some of the Sierra Leonean had returned to Sinje, Liberia, to benefit from food distribution or collect remaining family members.

"This outflow as well as influx will be observed closely," UNHCR reported.

Meanwhile, UNHRC is continuing to transport home or to temporary settlements the 500 Sierra Leonean refugees returning from Guinea each week. The agency said it would begin road repatriations once the Guinea-Sierra Leonean border at Pamelap, some 84 km north of the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, was officially opened. UNHCR said together with the International Organisation for Migration, it had repatriated 35,718 Sierra Leoneans from the Guinean capital, Conakry, since September 2000.