Â© UNHCR / G. Gordon

UNHCR resumes aid distribution to displaced in Ivorian massacre town
The presidential election in Ivory Coast in November 2010 was meant to reunite the country; instead it has brought the West African nation to the brink of renewed civil war. Yet, with the all-out fighting between pro-Ouattara supporters and those loyal to rival presidential candidate Laurent Gbagbo having ended, UNHCR has been able to resume the distribution of vital assistance to tens of thousands of forcibly displaced people in the western Ivory Coast town of Duékoué. Humanitarian organisations estimate that 100,000 people are displaced within the west of the country, with half of these in or around Duékoué.

UNHCR has been unable to work in the west since mid-March due to the dire security situation, culminating in at least 800 people being massacred on 29 March in Duékoué. The town is now under the command of forces loyal to President-Elect Alassane Ouattara and UNHCR’s implementing partner CARITAS has started handing out blankets, sleeping mats, plastic sheeting and sanitary kits to the 27,000 IDP’s registered in Duékoué’s Catholic mission since the beginning of April.

Tane Bamba, who oversees UNHCR's operations in western Ivory Coast, said that "Many of them are still scared and traumatized after the massacres" and that he could "see in the eyes of the IDPs that they are relieved to see the humanitarian community back." Bamba and his team are working with the local authorities to identify empty public buildings to house people now at the crowded Catholic mission. While many of the displaced told UNHCR staff that they hoped security could be restored so they could return home, ethnic tensions remain very high.

Up to 1 million Ivorians are displaced inside their country and Liberia is hosting more than 135,000 refugees from Ivory Coast, while thousands continue to pour into other countries. Some refugees reported seeing dead bodies on their way to Liberia and the High Commissioner expressed concerns that the instability in Ivory Coast could spill over into Liberia, which is rebuilding after years of civil war from 1989-2003. "It is absolutely essential to support Liberia in order to avoid any kind of destabilization that the situation in Ivory Coast might have on the…Liberian process of peace-building," Guterres stressed.

However, UNHCR still faces difficulties in delivering aid to the commercial capital of Abidjan. There are over 130,500 IDPs in Abidjan but the majority of IDP sites are either inaccessible or difficult to enter due to the presence of barricades manned by armed groups. The fighting in Abidjan has driven 7,200 civilians into exile in Ghana where UNHCR hosts refugees in its Ampaign and Kassap camps, while 200 Ivorians are arriving in Togo on a daily basis.