Guinea
Macenta refugee camp attacked by rebels

afrol.com, 19 September - Early yesterday morning, unidentified parties attacked the town of Macenta, located approximately 30 kilometers from the Guinean border with Liberia, resulting in an unknown number of deaths, including United Nations personnel. 

The number of deaths among the refugees is still not accounted for. Several Guineans are also reported to have died in the Macenta attack. 

This makes the fourth rebel attack on locations within Guinea in the last month. Concern is growing for the spilling over of the Sierra Leonean and Liberian conflicts into Guinea. Meanwhile, the large number of refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia in Guinea have been depleted of their safe harbour.

Mensah Kpognon, from Togo, was shot and killed on Sunday and his house was burned when armed men crossed the border from Liberia into Macenta. Kpognon, 50, was the head of UNHCR's office in Macenta. 

A UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) staff member remains missing, more than 24 hours after she was abducted by unidentified armed men. Witnesses said the staff member Sapeu Laurence Djeya was last seen Sunday morning being taken away by armed men who had shot and killed her colleague Mensah Kpognon. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed his shock at the murder of Kpognon and his concern over the fate of Djeya, a national of Côte d’Ivoire.

UNHCR said it was unclear who was responsible for the Sunday raid. The death on Sunday brings the number of civilian personnel working for the United Nations killed in the line of duty to 198 since 1992, when statistics started to be compiled. The UNHCR staff is still mourning the death of three colleagues killed in West Timor only two weeks ago.

As a result of the attack, people are fleeing Macenta toward the town of Guéckédou, some 60 miles away. The Guéckédou region already shelters more than 200.000 Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees in 55 camps.

In spite of the attacks, aid organisations say they will stay in the region to provide the great numbers of refugees. "CARE deplores this act of violence, which adds to the untold misery of people who are already suffering," says Nick Webber, CARE director for Guinea and Sierra Leone. In coordination with other humanitarian organizations, CARE is prepared to provide emergency assistance to families fleeing the conflict area. 

The UNHCR Staff Council has called on aid workers worldwide to demonstrate their anger and concern over the attacks on unarmed humanitarians. On Thursday, September 21, UNHCR staff around the world is urged to hold marches or organize other activities on that day.

Source: Based on UN and CARE

© afrol.com. Texts and graphics may be reproduced freely, under the condition that their origin is clearly referred to, see Conditions.    You can contact us at mail@afrol.com