Senegal forms welfare committee for displaced people

Bissau, Bissau Guinea, 03/23 - Authorities in Senegal have set up a management committee to coordinate the welfare of displaced people fleeing fighting between the Guinea Bissau army and fighters loyal to Salif Sadio, head of the military wing of the rebel Movement of the Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC).

The committee, which was formed on Tuesday, will plan strategies aimed at catering for the influx of people crossing the border to take refuge in Senegal.

Led by Ziguinchor region`s governor, Léopold Wade, the committee comprises the UNHCR, the Red Cross, representatives of other humanitarian organisations in Ziguinchor and a representative of the Senegalese armed forces.

The committee, led by UNHCR representative, Roseline Ido, has already visited refugees camping at Bourgadier, about 10 km from Ziguinchor.

Some 503 displaced people have been registered at Bourgadier, including 207 children under 15 years of age, 226 adults comprising 169 women and 57 men.

Among these displaced people, 342 are Senegalese and 161 Bissau- Guinean.

Roseline Ido revealed that the UNHCR had already supplied these displaced people with blankets.

"We have planned another stock of blankets kept in the WFP stores in Ziguinchor in case of new arrivals," she noted.

UNHCR`s Dakar Bureau covers Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Senegal, Gambia and Cape Verde.