225,000 Ivorian refugees have returned aftercrisis- UNHCR

Ms Ann Encontre, the Resident Representative of
the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Cote d’Ivoire
says 225,000 Ivorian refugees have returned home
after the post-election crisis.

Encontre told newsmen in Abidjan on Wednesday
that the agency’s record showed that no fewer than
300,000 persons fled the country in search of
refuge at the peak of the political violence.
She, however, said that about 70,000 people were
still on exile in neighbouring countries such as
Liberia, Ghana and Togo.
“The UNHCR assisted a total of 225,000 Ivorian
refugees in neighbouring West African countries to
return home.
” We have built more than 3,500 houses,
rehabilitated classrooms and water facilities to
serve the immediate humanitarian needs of the
returnees”,she said.
Encontre said that the UN body had also
implemented several programmes aimed at
fostering social cohesion among the citizens.
The UNHCR official called for more effective
partnership toward tackling the humanitarian
situation in the country.
She commended the Ivorian government for passing
the law on stateless persons, saying “children and
others who fall in the stateless category will now
heave a sigh of relief”.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Cote
d’Ivoire was hit by a post-election crisis following a
disputed election between President Alassane
Ouattara and former President Laurent Gbagbo.
NAN further reports that the crisis, which was
reported to have caused the death of some 3,000
persons also left many displaced.
Although, peace had returned in Cote d’Ivoire,
pockets of violence still erupt in different parts of
the country.