   |
|
afrol News, 7 December - The first of an estimated 11,000 refugees began the second and final leg of their return home to Sierra Leone's northwest region this week. The repatriation is organised orderly by the UN and the governments of Sierra Leone and Guinea. Refugees had returned from Forécariah in neighbouring Guinea during the past several months, but because of continuing insecurity in many parts of the country, they were housed in temporary settlements in Lungi, north of the capital, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR. UNHCR spokesperson Peter Kessler today confirmed that the UNHCR on Monday had "organised the first convoy for Sierra Leonean returnees who had been living in host communities north of Freetown, to their place of origin in Kambia district." With the Sierra Leone army re-established in Kambia and Port Loko districts and the return of both national authorities and tribal chiefs, UNHCR considered that it was safe to begin the second phase of return to their original homes. It was the first time since the conflict began more than a decade ago that the agency had undertaken such an operation, underscoring a widening sense of stability in parts of the war-wracked nation, the UN agency today reports. The erratic movement of the returnees reflected the unstable and constantly changing security conditions in many parts of West Africa. During Sierra Leone's war, hundreds of thousands of persons fled to neighbouring countries, but some were forced to flee yet again when insecurity swept those regions. On Monday 485 persons made the 85 kilometre, two-and-a-half hour trip by truck to Kambia district while seven pregnant women and two weak children went by car. Many were in tears as they completed the journey home after years of exile and suffering. - We plan two other convoys each carrying about 700 people for today and Saturday, said Kessler. "Convoys will continue every other day until all of the 7,533 people who registered to return home have left the transit settlements at Lungi." - Upon arrival in Kambia the Sierra Leoneans receive a 2-month food ration from the World Food Program, sleeping mats, jerry cans, kitchen utensils and other items, spokesperson Peter Kessler said. UNHCR and its local partners had been rehabilitating clinics, schools, and water and sanitation projects. Sierra Leonean refugees earlier this year had returned from Guinea in large number as their security could not be guaranteed for. The unorganised return however ended in tragedy for many refugees, having to pass through territory controlled by the RUF rebels. Localities within Sierra Leone were also not ready to receive the large number of returnees.
|
