UNHCR ends West Africa's last big repatriation operation

Liberian refugees around West Africa

[GENEVA, June 15 (UNHCR)] -- At the end of the month, UNHCR completes its assisted repatriation programme for Liberian refugees. But Michel Gaudé, head of the agency's West Africa desk, says UNHCR will remain in Liberia for at least 18 more months to support the reintegration of returnees. Gaudé, who started his UNHCR career 27 years ago in Rwanda, told Senior Public Information Officer Andrej Mahecic that he was cautiously optimistic about the outlook for his region. Excerpts from the interview:

How successful has the Liberia operation been?

A few days ago, we topped the 100,000 mark for the number of Liberians who have returned home under UNHCR auspices. We hope that by the end of the month maybe another 5,000-10,000 people will decide to return.... It is difficult to predict the ultimate figures. >>

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Eritrea rejected Ethiopia’s "unconditional" acceptance of a U.N. boundary commission ruling that it return a disputed town to Eritrea, arguing Friday that its agreement contained stipulations that undermined the spirit of the ruling.

In a letter last week to the U.N. Security Council, the Ethiopian government agreed to the commission’s decision, announced five years ago, that it return the key town of Badme to Eritrea. The status of the town was part of a tense, nine-year-long, border dispute.

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