Via BBC online
About 14,000 people have fled Ivory Coast to neighbouring Liberia following last month’s disputed Ivorian presidential election, the UN says.
It says it is prepared for a total of 30,000 refugees in the region.
Most of those fleeing are supporters of Alassane Ouattara, who is recognised internationally as the new president.
Three West African presidents will go to Ivory Coast on Tuesday to personally urge incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo to quit, Benin’s foreign minister says.
Mr Gbagbo has rejected widespread calls to step down, citing vote rigging in northern areas.
The spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, told the BBC that most of those who had left Ivory Coast since the 28 November election had come from villages in the west of the country.
She said they had been walking for days to escape tensions they feared could explode into violence, and the flow was continuing.
A UNHCR statement added: “With their numbers growing, the humanitarian needs are increasing for the mostly women and children refugees as well as for the villagers hosting them.”
Benin’s Foreign Minister Jean Marie Ehouzou has said the presidents of Benin, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde will visit Ivory Coast to tell Mr Gbagbo on behalf of regional bloc Ecowas “that he must step down as quickly as possible or face legitimate military force”.
Read Full Story
Article courtesy bbc.co.uk
