Government appeals for $5 mln to cope with Togolese refugees

The government of Benin appealed on Thursday for almost US $5 million to help it deal with thousands of refugees who have poured into the country after fleeing political violence in neighbouring Togo. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) estimates some 13,000 Togolese have flocked to Benin but government officials put that figure nearer to 20,000 as they launched their appeal in the capital Cotonou. "The massive influx of Togolese refugees in Benin is a humanitarian crisis which calls for the international community to show their solidarity," Rogatien Biaou, the Foreign Affairs Minister, told a press conference. "This is a humanitarian situation which is beyond the capacity of Benin." Benin ranks as one of the 20 poorest countries in the world, 18 places below its neighbour Togo on the UN's Human Development Index. The government wants the international community and UN agencies to stump up US $4.97 million to help it look after the new arrivals and provide them with shelter, food, water, health services, and education. Thousands of Togolese fled their homes at the end of April after clashes erupted following the announcement that Faure Gnassingbe -- the son of the late dictator who had ruled for almost four decades -- had won a presidential poll that the opposition said was rigged. Around 100 people were killed and 2,000 more injured, diplomats and aid groups say, as security forces cracked down on young opposition supporters manning burning barricades and supporters of rival political groups fought one another on the streets of Lome and other major towns. Some refugees have started to trickle home now that calm has returned, but many are still staying fearfully in exile. Benin said on Thursday that its appeal was to allow it to help the refugees from now until October. Of the 20,000 Togolese refugees the government says are on its territory, about 65 percent are thought to be staying with friends and family who were already living in Benin. The rest are living in refugee camps that have been set up near the western border with Togo at Come and Lokossa. The government estimates that half of the refugees are children, including 108 who have made the journey to Benin unaccompanied, and that there are hundreds of pregnant and breast-feeding women among the Togolese that fled.