Gambia hosted nearly 15,000 refugees at the end of 2000, including nearly 10,000 from Sierra Leone and about 5,000 from Senegal.

Refugees from Sierra Leone

Ongoing civil war in Sierra Leone has pushed some 10,000 Sierra Leonean refugees into Gambia in recent years.

The vast majority of Sierra Leonean refugees lived in villages and in the capital, Banjul, where they supported themselves and did not require humanitarian assistance. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provided support to a small number of the most vulnerable urban refugees.

About 700 Sierra Leoneans lived in refugee camps. UNHCR provided camp occupants with food, health care, educational assistance, farming tools, and training in carpentry, masonry, sewing, and other skills to help the refugees generate income.

Other Refugees

Most of the estimated 5,000 Senegalese refugees arrived in Gambia during 1997-98 to escape violence in the southern Senegal region of Casamance. Continued insecurity in their home region during 2000 prevented large-scale repatriation.

Most Senegalese refugees supported themselves in Gambia's border villages or in urban areas. About 500 resided in two refugee camps, Sifoe and Arankoli Kunda, where they received food, medical care, and other services. About 200 Senegalese refugees left Gambia for resettlement in the United States late in the year.

An estimated 1,000 refugees from Guinea-Bissau departed Gambia and returned home during the year.

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