Ivory Coast: 27,000 people still crammed into church complex

image UNICEF

About 27,000 people, mostly supporters of President Gbagbo, have been sheltering in a small mission complex since late March, when the city was taken over by Republican Forces faithful to the current president Alassane Ouattara.

The Bishop of Mans, Mgr Gaspard Beby Gneba said: "The situation gets more and more dramatic each day. Each person has barely a square metre to live in. The sanitary and health conditions are very poor."

The UNMCI (United Nations Mission in Cote Ivoire) ensures the safety of these people while Caritas provides meals and basic health service. The presence of UN soldiers, however, is not sufficient to reassure the refugees and bring them back home.

"The uncertainty is still very strong. But the real problem is that these people have no home to go back to because their homes have been ransacked, destroyed and burned.

"It is urgent to find another place for these people, as well as guaranteeing security to those who still have a home and want to return. You then need to rebuild destroyed homes," concluded the Bishop of Man.

Source: Fides