Over 6,600 ex-refugees return to Daru, Kenema

Some 3,136 people fleeing fighting in Guinea's Parrot's Beak area returned to the town of Daru in eastern Sierra Leone in March, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in its situation report of 11-31 March. In Kenema, also in the east, UNHCR has so far registered 3,558 refugees from the Parrot's Beak, OCHA said. Many of the Daru returnees complained of body pain and exhaustion, OCHA said, while there were a few cases of vomiting and diarrhoea. UNHCR and the International Medical Corps (IMC) provided high-density rations to the returnees on registration and the vulnerable ones received medical care and food, the report stated. The Civil Defence Forces, Kailahun District Development Foundation and Save the Children screened the returnees at their points of entry into Sierra Leone, while UNAMSIL transferred them from Daru to Kenema. The 3,558 refugees registered in Kenema fled out of fear of further attacks on Nongoa, a camp in the Parrot's Beak which, the refugees said, might lead to food shortages. Others wanted to cross into Sierra Leone before the May rains. OCHA reported that many of the returnees - who were mostly women and children - arrived exhausted and in need of immediate medical care. "They reported persistent harassment by the RUF," the report said, adding that many men remained behind, as a result.