UN to resume Guinea refugee aid

Guinea is home to around 500,000 refugees

By Imogen Foulkes in Berne, Switzerland

The United Nations refugee agency says it is to resume aid to more than 140,000 refugees trapped in southern Guinea.

The refugees, who fled conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone, have received no aid since last September when the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) shut down its aid programme in the region following the shooting of its local head of operations.

The decision to resume aid follows an eight-day tour of the region by UNHCR director Ruud Lubbers.

Mr Lubbers asked regional leaders to support safe access for UN aid workers to the refugees.

A spokesman for the UNHCR in Geneva said the presidents of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea had given assurances that aid workers would be protected.

But the spokesman said there were so many small militia groups in the region that the safety of UN personnel remained a big problem.

Increased malnutrition

Guinea is home to amore than 400,000 refugees from the conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and those near where the the borders meet, known as the Parrot's Beak region, have since been trapped by regional conflicts.

The UNHCR also estimates there are now around 70,000 native Guineans who have been displaced by the fighting.

The refugee agency says there is increased evidence of malnutrition, especially among children, and the first aim of the renewed aid effort will be to address this problem.

Aid trucks carrying food and medical supplies for the refugees will set off for southern Guinea as soon as three bridges in the area have been repaired.

Ultimately, the UNHCR hopes to use the trucks to repatriate all the refugees who wish to return home.