Conakry — Thousands of refugees and displaced Guineans are on the move in the southwest region of Guinea following renewed fighting in the town of Gueckedou on Friday.
Refugees who were staying in the Nyaedou camp were to be moved by vehicle to a safer area, away from the fighting. Large groups started to walk spontaneously behind a United Nations convoy of 15 trucks heading north towards the new camp of Albadaria. The refugees, mostly from Sierra Leone, were also joined by local Guineans distressed by repeated fighting in the Gueckedou area.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) arrived at the Nyaedou camp Friday to pick up several hundred refugees who were scheduled to board the trucks en route to Albadaria. On Thursday a similar convoy was stopped at a road block by the Guinean army and had to turn back, amid renewed fighting in the town of Gueckedou, which lasted approximately two hours.
The refugees in the area had for some time expressed frustration at the pace at which the relocation was going, fearing every day for their lives as fighting continued in Gueckedou, a mere 15 km to the south of Nyaedou. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, UNHCR was able to transport close to 700 refugees to Albadaria in two convoys of about ten trucks each.
Friday the convoy was able to reach Nyaedou at about midday and another 1,000 or so refugees managed to board the truck. The patience of those not able to get rides seemed to have worn thin, and they simply decided to walk, at all costs, rather than stay in the increasingly volatile area of southwestern Guinea, which has been under constant attack since September last year.
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The camp of Nyaedou was hosting about 34,000 refugees, and while a small number were long-time residents, many others had joined Nyaedou from other camps further south, after the first attacks. UNHCR and other aid workers on the convoy estimate that an important number, possibly a majority of the camp population, have taken to the road.
Among the group are reportedly some refugees who came from the Parrot's Beak region, another trouble spot, and managed to make their way to Nyaedou. Many of the refugees are said to be in a bad shape, very thin and they carry no possessions.
The situation in the border area is becoming increasingly difficult for aid workers as well as the local population. Last Friday, UN staff successfully retrieved stocks of food and other materials from the embattled town of Gueckedou. While loading the material at a warehouse on the north side of town, the workers could hear rocket fire and gunfire from the southern edge of the town.
Refugee officials had drawn plans to relocate some 180,000 refugees and 70,000 Guinean displaced persons stranded in the Parrot's Beak area, southwest of Gueckedou. However, continued military activity there has prevented the evacuation. The United Nations has voiced grave concern about the humanitarian situation in the Parrot's Beak, which has received no significant aid in months.
Delphine Marie works at the UN mission in Conakry
