Refugees flee attack on Konin

Some 1,500 refugees fled their camp at Konin in southwestern Guinea after rebels attacked it, and headed for Koundou Lengo Bengo and Fangamadou, which already has 13,500 refugees, UNHCR reported on Saturday. A food convoy destined for Koundou Lengo Bengo was diverted on Saturday to Owet-Djiba camp, home to some 3,100 refugees and displaced Guineans. Meanwhile, fewer than 2,000 refugees remained on Saturday at Katkama camp, 30 km north of the southwestern town of Guekedou. Since 6 February, UNHCR has been relocating people from Katkama to Kountaya, Albadaria Prefecture, 160 km north of Guekedou. UNHCR estimates that a few hundred people arrive each day in Katkama from the Parrot's Beak, a bit of land that juts into Sierra Leone. Katkama remains equipped with shelter and basic infrastructure because it serves as a transit point for refugees fleeing the Beak. UNHCR says it is trying to get permission from local authorities for refugees to walk northward from the camps in the Beak. To ease their plight UNHCR plans to place way stations along the route. The stations will provide high-protein biscuits, water and medical care. The vulnerable will be transported by truck. Frequently shifting populations between villages in the Beak make it difficult to estimate the number of displaced persons and refugees, UNHCR said. However, UNHCR is planning for 135,000 refugees in the area, along with tens of thousands of displaced Guineans. UNHCR's implementing partner, Premiere Urgence, has a 56-member food distributing team that is preparing an accurate list of the people to whom it makes deliveries, UNHCR said.