Number of refugees fleeing Togo after April elections continues to rise

The number of refugees fleeing Togo to Ghana and Benin since the disputed elections took place in April has continued to rise, increasing by over 3,000 in June to reach more than 38,000, the United Nations refugee agency said today.

In Ghana virtually all 15,500 refugees were staying with host families, which were receiving assistance from UNHCR and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the spokesman for Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ron Redmond, said in Geneva.

In Ghana’s Aflao area, a busy commercial centre which is adjacent to Togo's capital, Lomé, and which is where the majority of refugees have been crossing into Ghana, UNHCR and the local authorities were planning a house-to-house survey from 7 to 9 July to verify the exact numbers and needs of the refugees, he said.

In Benin, nearly 8,800 of the more than 23,000 refugees were in the camps at Come and Lokossa/Agame, while the others were staying with relatives and friends, he said.