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UNHCR said on Wednesday it was gravely concerned about some 400,000 Liberians and Sierra Leoneans in Guinea amid renewed rebel attacks and growing local hostility toward the refugees.
The attacks by unidentified armed groups in border areas of southern Guinea have prompted UNHCR to again scale down its activities on behalf of the region’s refugees.
Rebels have attacked several villages in Guekedou and Macenta, southern Guinea, since 27 November. The attacks ended a one-month lull in fighting in the area, which borders Sierra Leone and Liberia, the agency said.
On Tuesday, the anti-government Rally for the Democratic Forces of Guinea warned in a radio broadcast it would soon attack Guekedou, spreading panic among residents, UNHCR said.
The agency has suspended food distribution in the town and recalled to Conakry, the Guinean capital, its staff deployed to Kissidougou, 71 km north of Guekedou. The agency had recently resumed food distribution to 150,000 refugees in the area after an eight-week interruption since September, when unidentified attackers murdered a UNHCR staff member in Macenta.
The groups attacking Guinea are believed to operate from Liberia and Sierra Leone.
“This instability poses a grave threat to Africa’s second largest refugee population,” said Abou Moussa, UNHCR’s top official in the West Africa region.
[For the full report visit this site:
http://www.unhcr.ch/news/pr/pr001206b.htm]
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