UNHCR is trying to verify reports that Guinea-Bissau authorities have been forcing Senegalese refugees to leave, UN spokesman Ron Redmond said. NGO sources told IRIN that about 70 refugees had crossed into Casamance, southern Senegal, via the Mpack border post in recent days.
UNHCR has sent a team to the area to establish whether or not their return was forced, Redmond said.
Humanitarian sources told IRIN that the refugees fled northern Guinea-Bissau after soldiers burnt many homes on 20 May in a village whose inhabitants they suspected of hiding members of the Mouvement des forces democratiques de Casamance (MFDC).
Refugees from Casamance had been living for about 10 years in the village, which is some 5 km southwest of the town of Sao Domingos. After the military’s action, some refugees fled to Sao Domingos, while others returned to Senegal, the sources said.
The MFDC has been fighting for self-rule for Casamance since 1982.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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