- After living in Senegal for 20 years, thousands of Mauritanian refugees will soon return to their country of origin.
A deal establishing the judicial framework of the voluntary repatriation and integration in the northern Senegal was signed by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the governments of Mauritania and Senegal.
More than 60,000 Mauritanians fled to the neighbouring Senegal and Mali in April 1989 when a protracted border dispute between Mauritania and Senegal turned into ethnic violence.
A survey conducted by UNHCR and Senegal showed that at least 24,000 Mauritanian refugees living in Senegal wanted to return home.
Apart from transporting them to their country of origin, the UNHCR will also help the refugees to integrate successfully. Each of the refugees will benefit from a three month food aid and housing.
UNHCR is also determined to make basic services [education and health] available to the repatriated refugees.
The voluntary repatriation programme, which is scheduled to be completed in 17 months, will take off in December when at least 2,000 refugees will arrive home.
Mauritanian President, Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, called on all Mauritanian refugees to make a final homecoming.
The signing ceremony, which took place in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, was hailed by the UN refugee agency officials, describing it as a solution to one of the most protracted refugee situations in Africa.
The development is expected to boost donor response to the agency's US $7 million appeal for the purpose.
The refugee agency had earlier facilitated the reintegration of 35,000 Mauritanian refugees.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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