UN to resume land repatriation of Sierra Leonean refugees from Liberia

After a nearly two-year halt because of heavy fighting, the United Nations refugee agency will tomorrow resume the repatriation over land of some 13,000 Sierra Leoneans from Liberia.

"We are pleased to see the Sierra Leonean refugees return home, as voluntary repatriation where possible – as in this case – offers the best durable solution to the challenge of being a refugee," the representative in Liberia of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Moses Okello, said today of the first convoy of 65 people which is set to launch the operation via Bo Waterside tomorrow.

“We are confident in the peace obtaining inside Sierra Leone and we feel that every Sierra Leonean should be availed of the opportunity to contribute to the rebuilding of the country," he added.

Land repatriation was suspended in April 2002 as a result of escalation of fighting in Grand Cape Mount and Bomi counties after UNHCR had helped some 19,500 people to return to Sierra Leone. Most refugees preferred land repatriation, fearing travel by sea or air.

Deployment of peacekeepers from the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) at Bo-Waterside a few days ago has created the conditions for the safe passage of from Monrovia to Zimmi in Sierra Leone. UNHCR anticipates an “overwhelming” response to the exercise.

Agency field and security staff, as well as medical personnel who will use ambulances for the vulnerable, will accompany the convoys which will operate every Tuesday and Thursday.