Guinea: new Liberian arrivals

Briefing notes

Guinea: new Liberian arrivals

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Kris Janowski – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

11 June 2002

Fighting in Liberia continues to drive thousands of people into the neighbouring countries. In Guinea, 1,454 Liberians crossed the border into Yomou, Macenta, Nzérékoré and Guéckédou over the past three days, bringing the number of new arrivals in Guinea since January to 14,418.

UNHCR teams at the border are working to transfer all new arrivals as soon as possible to camps and transit centres away from the border and areas where the security risk is high. This is often an arduous task, as the border is long and collecting and preparing the dispersed refugees for transfer is time-consuming. The 1,454 new arrivals will be transferred from central transit points along the border (Galakpaye, Banzou / Yassate, Dongoeta in Yomou County, and BCR and Tekoulo in Guéckédou) to Nonah, Kouankan and Kola camps. Upon arrival the new refugees receive food and other aid.

Though tired, most refugees are reported to be in a reasonable shape but there are cases of malaria and diarrhoea in the camps, which house thousands of people.

Guinea currently hosts close to 100,000 refugees from Liberia. Sierra Leone hosts over 25,000 and Côte d'Ivoire more than 130,000.