A top UN official will begin a visit to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia on Monday to review the crisis in the sub-region, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard reported in New York on Thursday.
Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Carolyn McAskie will also be looking at coordination arrangements between the UN and NGOs during her 10-day mission. Tens of thousands of refugees have been caught up in fighting between Guinean government troops and rebels along the borders of the three countries since September 2000. UN agencies and NGOs have been fighting a race against time and the onset of the rainy season to move refugees in Guinea from camps near the border to areas farther inland. Over 50,000 refugees have already returned home voluntarily.
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