With conflict between rival forces now having reached the western
town Guiglo in Cote d'Ivoire, accompanied by further violence and
looting, IOM has learnt that close to 4,000 people have sought
refuge in a former camp for the internally displaced managed by IOM
until its closure in 2008.

The displaced, mainly Burkinabés, but also Malians,
Guineans, Baoulé and Sénoupho Ivorians as well, are
at the site without shelter, food, water or access to health
facilities. With the rainy season now starting, the lack of
adequate shelter is particularly worrying.

"The conflict now makes it impossible to access this group of
people and provide them with the help they need at what is now a
largely empty site with very few hard structures on it. It is
deeply frustrating that we cannot reach them to assist them," says
Jacques Seurt, IOM Emergency Coordinator in Cote d'Ivoire.

Peacekeeping forces from the UN Mission in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI)
have been sent to protect the camp after IOM made an urgent appeal
for the displaced to be given protection.

IOM had also raised concern about a group of 25 orphans in a
centre in Guiglo in urgent need of relocation to Man.

The Organization had been providing the group with food and
non-food assistance. However, with the situation in the town highly
dangerous and with the deaths of two children this week from
malaria as fighting and roadblocks prevented doctors and medicines
reaching them, relocation has been a priority. Today, security
conditions permitting and with the support of UNICEF, the orphans
will be relocated to Man.

Tension as well as violence also continues to grow in the
country's main city, Abidjan. Despite the situation greatly
hindering efforts to gauge the true extent of internal displacement
in the city, IOM and UNHCR currently estimate that more than 19,000
people are displaced in churches, schools and other buildings in
Abidjan with another 60,000 staying with host families.

The escalation in violence in the city has led to an exodus of
its inhabitants from Abidjan to villages and towns outside.

Transport is now difficult to find. An on-going IOM evacuation
of Mauritanian migrants from Abidjan has been affected by the lack
of available buses.

The Organization is examining all possibilities for the
evacuation of stranded migrants as a result, especially as IOM has
been asked to return at least 35,000 Guineans, Malians, Senegalese,
Burkinabés and Mauritanians with more requests for
assistance coming in. However, funding is urgently required to
ensure that the evacuation of stranded migrants from Cote d'Ivoire
can continue. IOM has 1,200 Mauritanians ready to leave
immediately.

Meanwhile, growing numbers of Ivorians and migrants are now also
fleeing into Ghana. Of the nearly 2,000 Ivorian refugees who have
crossed into Ghana, more than 1,400 arrived this week alone.

IOM staff at the Takoradi border crossing with Cote d'Ivoire say
the reception and transit centre for migrants is heavily
over-crowded. More than 800 people are currently there despite it
having a capacity to host only 200-300 people. Many migrants as a
result are being hosted in neighbouring communities.

The number of French-speaking migrants from Cote d'Ivoire
wanting to transit through Ghana is also increasing. IOM staff say
they prefer to head for Togo for linguistic reasons. Among them, a
growing number of Guinean migrants from Cote d'Ivoire who want to
return home and who need assistance to do so.

As well as assisting migrants to return home, IOM in Ghana is
transporting all those crossing the border to the reception centre
as well as then taking Ivorian refugees to a UNHCR refugee
camp.

Staff say the majority of migrants arriving in Ghana do not have
documents and embassies are at least a day's drive away in Accra.
Further complications are arising with some nationals not having
any government representation in Accra that could facilitate the
issuing of emergency travel documents.

With the situation in Cote d'Ivoire worsening on a daily basis
and with more people now expected to cross into Ghana, IOM is
beefing up its presence at the border with additional operational
and health staff.

For further information, please contact:

Jemini Pandya

IOM Geneva

Tel: +41 22 717 9486

       +41 79 217 3374

E-mail: "mailto:jpandya@iom.int" target="" title="">jpandya@iom.int