Action by Churches Together (ACT)
Alert - Guinea - 1/2001
Guinea: Some 250,000 people trapped in the crossfire
Geneva, February 16, 2001


ACT assessment teams on their way to refugee camps

Due the severe refugee crisis in the West African state of Guinea and the
mounting tensions in the region, ACT members Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) have decided to send two teams to
Guinea to assess the needs and to send a proposal for an ACT Appeal.

Some 450,000 Liberians and Sierra Leoneans have fled from civil wars in
their countries in the 1990s to neighbouring Guinea. Cross-border fighting
which began last September and fresh fighting over the last couple of
weeks have been raising regional tension continuously. Caught in the
middle are refugees and Guinean civilians. They are at the centre of the
world's worst refugee crisis.

The civil war which devastated Liberia and Sierra Leone now threatens to
spill over into Guinea, which is the target of cross-border attacks by
armed men from the neighbouring countries.

Hundreds of people have died since early September 2000, when the fighting
started. Guinea says Liberian forces and Sierra Leonean rebels are helping
Guinean dissidents launch the attacks. Liberia on the other hand accuses
Guinea of harboring dissidents seeking to destabilize its government.
  
UNHCR estimates there are 180,000 refugees and 70,000 internally displaced
Guineans trapped by the conflict between Guinea government forces and the
rebels. They are cut off in the Parrot Peak area of Guinea, jutting into
the rebel-held area of Sierra Leone, in the south of Guinea at its eastern
borders with Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The refugees have come under attack from Guineans who blame them for the
cross-border raids. The refugees report they have been harassed by Guinean
civilians and security forces. More than 30,000 have already returned home
from Guinea, and thousands more are queuing up to follow despite the
continuing civil war in Sierra Leone. But the Guinean army has surrounded
the refugee camps not allowing a great number out in fear this could
destabilize the area.

The few who still have money can buy a place in a packed vehicle and pay
off security forces at checkpoints to travel for more than 600 km to reach
the Guinean capital Conakry, from where boats sail to Sierra Leone.
Others, more desperate, have chosen to make the hazardous return by foot
through rebel-held territory in Sierra Leone, where they run the risk of
forced recruitment into the rebel ranks.

The UNHCR has started moving refugees from camps in the areas which are
still accessible to new camps further north and is calling for a
humanitarian corridor into Sierra Leone.

A team of three to four staff from LWF Mauritania and LWF Liberia/Sierra
Leone, which will be joined by the NCA team, will be on their way as of
tomorrow. The LWF team has been given the following tasks:

- To establish contact with UN Agencies, NGOs and Church partners if any,
  who are involved or likely to be involved in addressing the humanitarian
  needs.
- Obtain and study available assessment and other relevant reports as well
  as undertake further assessments, if necessary, to determine specific
  needs and interventions.
- Based on the needs assessments, likely available capacities and
  resources, formulate an ACT Appeal as per the prescribed ACT format and
  guidelines. However the decision to issue an ACT Appeal will be made in
  consultation with all concerned.
- Compile and send together with the Appeal, the Team's Assessment and
  other reports if any.
- The time frame for the mission is expected to be two weeks. The team
  will be equipped with the Liberia's program sat phone.




Thank you for your attention.

For further information please contact:

ACT Co-ordinator, Thor-Arne Prois (phone ++41 22 791 6033 or mobile phone
++ 41 79 203 6055)
ACT Appeals Officer, John Nduna (phone +41 22 791 6040)


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of 
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


   Ecumenical Centre                          Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33
   150, route de Ferney                         Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06
   P.O. Box 2100                             E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org
   1211 Geneva 2                              Telex: 415 730 OIK CH
   Switzerland                                 http://www.act-intl.org


distributed by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International Disaster Information
Volunteers in Technical Assistance
                                          web: www.cidi.org
                                     listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
comments/suggestions/requests to incident@cidi.org