UN refugee agency re-establishes presence in western Côte d’Ivoire

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said today that it had re-established a presence in western Côte d'Ivoire following January's violent destruction of the premises of several humanitarian organizations in the town of Guiglo, which led to the departure of most humanitarian staff and UN peacekeepers.

“Last week, we opened a new operational base in Duékué, 20 minutes north of Guiglo. The office will be manned by two international staff who will be making daily trips to Guiglo. An additional 10 national staff will be working in Duékué and Guiglo,” UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told a news briefing in Geneva.

During demonstrations in January, UNHCR's premises were looted and the building was set on fire. All files were lost, as well as five cars, one motorcycle, and three generators. Warehouses containing relief items and food were also looted. Losses for UNHCR were estimated at $350,000. Other UN agencies and several international non-governmental organizations suffered similar losses.

From January to March, UNHCR staff undertook regular missions from Abidjan to Guiglo to ensure a continuing presence and to provide food, health, water and sanitation assistance to some 10,000 Liberian refugees in the area. UNHCR has been in Guiglo for more than 10 years, working on behalf of refugees and the local host population.

Most of the 37,500 refugees registered in Côte d'Ivoire live in the western part of the country, including some 6,000 in Nicla camp, near Guiglo, and more than 4,000 others in the surrounding community, the agency said, adding that it hopes half of these refugees will be able to return home to Liberia this year.

The destruction was caused by the Young Patriots, a group which saw recommendations from the UN-authorized International Working Group as likely to reduce the power of President Laurent Gbagbo.