Close to 70,000 Ivorian refugees are still in Liberia
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Ivorian refugees
More than 67,000 refugees from Côte d'Ivoire are still in Liberia and reluctant to return home because of security concerns, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).
The influx of Ivorian refugees into Liberia started in November 2010 following the disputed presidential run-off elections in Côte d'Ivoire.
The dispute was eventually resolved and Alassane Ouattara became the president of the country.
UNHCR spokesperson in Liberia, Sulaiman Momodu, says that his agency signed an agreement with Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire in August last year to facilitate the return of the refugees to their country.
"We are now facilitating the movements of people who want to go back home. So over the past few months UNHCR, in collaboration with partners have facilitated the return of more than 4,300 Ivorians back home but we still have a case load of more than 67,000 staying in various camps in Liberia. There are still security concerns for some of these people, that is why they are not going back yet, but on our part we continue to facilitate the return of anybody who wants to go." (Duration: 26″)
A delegation of the Security Council visited a camp for Ivorian refugees in Liberia on Tuesday as part of its mission to West Africa which started last Friday.
