GUINEA* (9 February)
Harvesting of the 2004 paddy crop is complete and output is expected to be similar to previous year’s crop. The repatriation of Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea was completed in late July. About 12 170 people have been repatriated in 2004, bringing the number of refugees repatriated since the beginning of the operation in October 2001 to about 56 000. Although the restoration of peace in Sierra Leone has resulted in a decrease of the number of refugees in Guinea, the country still hosts a large number of refugees. According to the results of a refugee verification exercise carried out by WFP in June 2004, 80 806 refugees are still living in the country (including 73 840 from Liberia; some 3 980 from Côte d'Ivoire and over 1 830 from Sierra Leone), in addition to some 80 000 IDPs and over 100 000 returnees from Côte D’Ivoire in 2002 in Guinea Forestière.