SERIOUS REFUGEE FLOWS OUT OF TOGO BEGIN

UNCLAS ACCRA 000800 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: GH TO BN PREF SUBJECT: SERIOUS REFUGEE FLOWS OUT OF TOGO BEGIN ¶1. (SBU) According to UNHCR Representative Rafik Saiki, who is based in Cotonou, some 4,000 refugees have arrived in Benin from Togo as of 16:00 local on April 28. A number of NGO's, including Catholic Relief Services, were assisting the new arrivals as they crossed the border, most of whom had fled on foot over unpatrolled stretches of the frontier. Refugees were taking shelter in private homes, churches, and at Camp Come. The GOB had been very cooperative, said Saidi, but it lacked the resources to be of much help. Saidi noted that the international border had reopened earlier in the day, leading him to believe that even greater numbers of Togolese could follow. ¶2. (U) On the Ghanaian side, some 450 Togolese have arrived in small groups at various points along the border. According to UNHCR Representative Thomas Albrecht, all have found shelter in private homes and no extraordinary measures have been required. UNHCR contacts here have heard, but have not confirmed, that the GOT has armed its border guards with automatic weapons and that several cross-border incidents have occurred during which Ghanaians have been injured. YATES NNNN