Detainees released but tension lingers

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday that the some 5,000 West Africans, mainly from Sierra Leone and Liberia, detained in Guinea at the weekend had been released, but there was fear of further violence or arrests. The detentions followed three cross-border attacks from Liberia and Sierra Leone which, the government said, left about 80 people dead. A Sierra Leonean humanitarian source in Conakry said some people were still afraid to leave their homes and, if they did, to speak Krio, the Sierra Leonean lingua franca, in public. The situation in hinterland areas was still tense. A humanitarian source told IRIN that in areas such as Forecariah, there was fear and apprehension among humanitarian officials, who reported hearing shooting at night. Human Rights Watch on Wednesday blamed the Guinean government for alleged beatings and rapes of refugees. It released testimonies from more than 40 victims, including 10 women who said they were raped. Of these, seven reported that they were gang-raped. Chrys Ache, UNHCR's resident representative in Conakry, told IRIN the reports of abuses would be investigated. [See separate items titled 'GUINEA: Rights group blames government for attacks on refugees' and 'GUINEA: Fear prevails despite release of detained Liberians and Sierra Leoneans']