Annan appeal on African refugee problem

The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, has urged the leaders of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea to start talks quickly on ending the regional conflicts which have driven more than one million people from their homes.

In a report to the Security Council, Mr Annan said that the massive uproooting people in the border area where the three countries meet as one of the most serious humanitarian and political crises facing the international community.

Fighting in the border region broke out last year and has intensified since April, with each country blaming the others for supporting various rebel factions. Mr Annan also backed efforts by the Economic Community of West African States to get the three countrties to curb the activities of rebel groups operaitng in their countries.

According to UN figures, there are more than two million internally displaced people in Guinea alone, along with100,000 Sierra Leoneans and 80,000 Liberians.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service