UNHCR prepares to deliver food to the Parrot's Beak

An apparent improvement in the security situation in the Parrot's Beak, southwestern Guinea, has allowed UNHCR to push ahead with plans to resume aid deliveries to the area, UNHCR reported on Tuesday. "Globally the situation has improved," UNHCR spokesperson Delphine Marie told IRIN from the southern town of Kissidougou. "We hope that will allow us to resume distributions, which we have not been able to do since September" in the Parrot's Beak. Sources in the area have said that the roads are now safe and UNHCR hopes to be able to resume the distributions as early as Saturday, Marie said. According to UNHCR, about 140,000 refugees are stranded in dozens of refugee camps in the Parrot's Beak - Guinean territory that juts into Sierra Leone - where they face unsafe conditions and an absence of regular humanitarian aid. International organisations and NGOs withdrew from the Parrot's Beak in September following rebel attacks but most people were unable to leave. The food and medical situation has grown increasingly desperate, and with the rainy season just about 60 days away, access is even more urgent, UNHCR said. NGOs that have reached the Parrot's Beak in recent days reported cases of malnutrition and many deaths, especially among children. In the meantime, at least three damaged bridges are being repaired so that the heavy trucks used for the food distributions can travel to the Parrot's Beak, UNHCR said. On their return, the trucks will transport the most vulnerable people for relocation to safer camps in central Guinea, where UNHCR is building accomodation for about 1,000 new arrivals every day.