SIERRA LEONE: Overland repatriations from Guinea resumed
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported on Tuesday that it had resumed overland repatriations from Guinea, suspended at the end of June because of logistical constraints.
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)
SIERRA LEONE: Overland repatriations from Guinea resumed
ABIDJAN, 20 August (IRIN) - The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported on Tuesday that it had resumed overland repatriations from Guinea, suspended at the end of June because of logistical constraints. Some 116 Sierra Leoneans returned home on 12 August in the first convoy, UNHCR said in its latest weekly update on Sierra Leone.
The agency said the current projection was to repatriate 500 persons every 10 days. The next convoy was expected to arrive on Thursday, a source told IRIN.
While the overland programme is just resuming, repatriation by sea has been ongoing. The MV Overdeck successfully completed its sixth voyage on Saturday, carrying 272 passengers on board. The trip brought the total of returnees by sea to 1,807, UNHCR said.
Another repatriation project is the return of Sierra Leoneans living in Nigeria. According to UNHCR, the first flight will arrive at Lungi Airport on 28 August.
UNHCR also announced that a programme to relocate people from camps in the Freetown area to the eastern district of Kono began last week. Thus far 1,424 persons have been relocated. Thousands more are awaiting relocation in other parts of the country.
[ENDS]
IRIN-WA
Tel: +225 22-40-4440
Fax: +225 22-41-9339
Email: [email protected]
[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or
to change your keywords, contact e-mail: [email protected] or Web:
http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post
this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]
Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2002