UNHCR evacuates 130 refugees

UNHCR reported on Tuesday it had evacuated 130 Liberian and Guinean refugees from an area of Sierra Leone controlled by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

The agency said the refugees, who had been in the eastern town of Kailahun, were taken to a government-controlled area where they could receive urgent help. The group comprised 106 vulnerable and sick Liberian refugees, their families, and 24 Guineans.

“The most critical cases were provided with medical treatment at Kenema hospital, while the remaining refugees were taken to one of UNHCR’s temporary settlement camps near Bo,” the agency reported.

UNHCR said it would repatriate the Guineans and help trace their families. They had been in Sierra Leone since insurgents attacked their homes in Guekedou, southern Guinea, in January.

They were evacuated at the end of a two-day mission by UNHCR officials to the districts of Kailahun, Buedu and Koindu in eastern Sierra Leone. The operation was carried out with the help of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), and RUF. UNHCR said it welcomed RUF’s willingness to allow people to leave their area of control. The mission to the area was the first of several planned to assess the condition of Sierra Leonean returnees, Liberian refugees and Guineans in these RUF-controlled areas, UNHCR reported.

It said thousands of returnees and Liberian refugees had settled in Kailahun, Buedu and Koindu over the past couple of months, because of fighting in Guinea and Liberia.
Despite the generosity of the local communities to the newcomers, UNHCR said, “the humanitarian situation in these areas is critical”. There are no medical, educational and sanitation facilities, it said, and “there are also food shortages.”

UNHCR said it would not operate fully in these areas until security is improved. However, the agency said it would try to ease the suffering of the returnees and refugees.