[refugee-rights] UN official in Sierra Leone assesses impact of influx of Liberian refugees

UN OFFICIAL IN SIERRA LEONE ASSESSES IMPACT OF INFLUX OF LIBERIAN REFUGEES
New York, May 29 2002  2:00PM

The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) today reported that 
its senior military official has toured several of the country's border 
towns to assess the security impact of the current influx of Liberian 
refugees.

During his visits on Tuesday, UNAMSIL Force Commander Lt. Gen. Daniel I. 
Opande spoke to Liberian refugees who said they had fled their homes when 
the Armed Forces of Liberia warned of impending attacks by rebels. The 
refugees also said Liberian troops were demanding money from them before 
allowing transit through a border area into Sierra Leone. The Force 
Commander later visited that area, known as the Dar-es-Salaam crossing 
point, where refugees corroborated the allegations of extortion and 
harassment by Liberian troops.

The Force Commander then crossed the Mano River Bridge to the Liberian side 
of the border at Bo Waterside for a meeting with the Liberian Minister of 
Defence. The UN official appealed to the Liberian Government to monitor its 
side of the border to prevent cross-border attacks against Sierra Leonean 
villages.

Lt. Gen. Opande also stressed that the UN was doing everything in its 
power, in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Armed Forces, to police the 
Sierra Leonean side of the border, and requested the same from Liberian 
authorities, emphasizing that "peace in one of the Mano River Union 
countries without peace in the others is no peace at all."

An average of slightly more than 100 refugees are crossing the border from 
Liberia into Sierra Leone daily, according to the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR).