Aid organizations are warning of an impending humanitarian crisis for tens of thousands of refugees who have arrived in Liberia after fleeing violence in Ivory Coast. International aid agency Oxfam says more than 100,000 people have crossed the border from Ivory Coast to Liberia and are living in dire conditions in jungle villages.
The agency says there are many stories of wives being separated from husbands, children arriving in Liberia having lost their parents, and some not surviving the journey across rivers and through forests.
The refugees have been displaced by the fighting that has swept across Ivory Coast. The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday that 800 people had been shot dead in the western cocoa-producing town of Duekoue. A U.N. official put the death toll at 330 on Friday.
The violence erupted after a disputed November election led both incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and rival Alassane Ouattara to claim the presidency. The international community recognized Ouattara as the legitimate winner but Gbagbo refused to cede power and violence has engulfed the nation. Read More
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