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A rough but happy journey home for Sierra Leonean refugees
7 Jun 2004 The journey from Guinea to Sierra Leone is rough, but returnees are keen to get home before UNHCR's organised repatriation programme finishes on 30 June. Over 10,000 refugees have now returned since repatriation from Guinea began in late January this year. Community schemes are underway to help them reintegrate. -
UNHCR resumes repatriation from Guinea to Sierra Leone
2 Dec 2003 After a three-month break over the rainy season, the UN refugee agency has started helping Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea to go home again. It plans to help close to 1,000 return before the end of the year, ahead of more convoys and a gradual phase-out next year. -
Refugee band gets on soapbox in Guinea's camps
8 Oct 2003 Discovered in a Guinean camp, a Sierra Leonean refugee band has been entertaining fellow refugees with songs of hope and healing from its "Soda Soap" album, and encouraging them to help rebuild their country. -
Renewed clashes prompt civilians to flee central Liberia
24 Sep 2003 Thousands of Liberians have been driven from their homes in Gbarnga town, Bong county, after fresh fighting broke out over the weekend. Meanwhile, UNHCR has sent a team into rebel-controlled Zwedru town in eastern Liberia to assess the situation for the first time in months. -
New influx of Liberians in Guinea worries UNHCR
22 Sep 2003 Over 4,500 Liberian refugees have arrived in southern Guinea in the last week after fleeing fighting between government and rebel troops. UNHCR has already moved some 1,500 to camps further inland, and is working to provide more assistance with help from partner agencies. -
UNHCR moves closer to asylum seekers in southern Mexico
6 May 2003 The UN refugee agency has relocated its office in Chiapas state, moving closer to a busy border crossing point with Guatemala, where it will be in a better position to assist asylum seekers in the south. -
Fast track back to Sierra Leone raises hopes of complete repatriation by end 2004
7 Apr 2003 Hundreds of Sierra Leonean refugees went home over the weekend through a new direct route from central Guinea. This has sped up returns and raised hopes that the repatriation of Sierra Leonean refugees in the region can be completed by the end of next year. -
Thousands flee northern Liberia for Guinea; UNHCR starts transfer inland
2 Apr 2003 More than 7,000 refugees, mostly Liberians, have arrived in Guinea after fleeing fresh fighting in northern Liberia over the weekend. The UN refugee agency has started moving them away from the border region into existing camps and transit centres. -
Feature: UNHCR registers Liberians in south-eastern Guinea
30 Aug 2002 Recent arrivals from Liberia welcome the registration exercise as it gives them an identity and access to aid. Long-staying refugees, however, are hesitant about re-registration as it sometimes means they have to give up their undue privileges.