Ivorian refugees arrive in Dormaa

Dormaa-Ahenkro (B/A), March 31, GNA - About 170 Ivorian refugees fleeing the post-election crisis in their country have arrived in the Dormaa Municipality and are being processed for their encampment near Berekum.

Mr. Emmanuel Laryeah Quaye, Deputy Municipal Immigration officer for Dormaa, told the GNA that 93the real number of Ivorians entering the Dormaa Municipality may be more as some of the refugees are alleged to be using unapproved routes."

"Those registered are mainly women and children and seem to belong to various classes of people in their society," he said. Mr laryea said the refugees had been temporarily accommodated by the Catholic Church at Yawkrom, a farming community on the Ghana/Cote D'Ivoire border and at the Dormaa Municipal Assembly premises where they are being screened and registered.

He said the choice of an area near Berekum for the camping of the refugees was to ensure that the refugees were kept far away from the border to check possible incursions.

The Dormaa Municipal Health Directorate has set up a medical team to administer daily health care to the refugees and has appealed to all health facilities in the municipality to offer services to the refugees and submit reports on their treatment.

The Municipal Health Director, Madam Florence Iddrisah, appealed to the Municipal Assembly, the Immigration Service and the municipal office of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to take immediate steps to bring all refugees in the municipality under one umbrella for the avoidance of any communicable diseases. Mr. Oppong Tabiri, Catechist of Yawkrom Catholic Church and headteacher of the local Junior High School told GNA at Yawkrom that the number of refugees at Yawkrom kept increasing by the day with their material demands shooting up.

He thanked the municipal assembly and NADMO for donating 10 bags of rice, a bag of sugar, cartons of key soap, boxes of canned fish and tomatoes, 30 litres of cooking oil and a quantity of toilet rolls towards the temporary upkeep of the refugees at Yawkrom.