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UNHCR airlift delivers vital aid to flood-stricken Tindouf camps
20 Feb 2006 A UNHCR airlift supported by Portugal and Italy enters its third day, delivering tonnes of urgently needed tents and other relief items to tens of thousands of Sahrawi refugees made homeless by severe floods in western Algeria. -
UNHCR airlift to help homeless Sahrawi refugees in Algeria set to start
17 Feb 2006 UNHCR's airlift of emergency supplies to help more than 50,000 Sahrawi refugees, made homeless by flooding in the Tindouf region of western Algeria, is set to start from Jordan. Five countries have generously offered airlift support. A Portuguese plane, the first of the airlift, is expected to land in Jordan late Friday, where it will be loaded with tents and other relief items. In Tindouf, UNHCR and local partners continue to deal with the aftermath of the disaster. -
Rare torrential rains leave 50,000 Sahrawi refugees in Algeria homeless
13 Feb 2006 Emergency aid is needed to help an estimated 50,000 Sahrawi refugees near Tindouf in western Algeria made homeless after three days of rare torrential rains caused severe flooding in the desert region. Initially, one person was reported to have died and several were injured. Structural damage in the affected refugee camps is enormous, according to a joint rapid assessment mission. -
Western Sahara family visits off to flying start
28 Jun 2004 Some 18,000 people from the disputed territory of Western Sahara have asked to join a UN initiative briefly allowing them to meet relatives living on opposite sides of the border. -
UNHCR expands family visit initiative for Western Saharan refugees
14 May 2004 The UN refugee agency has started flights between Algeria's camps and Smarra in Western Sahara, the third city to be included in a confidence-building initiative that has so far allowed more than 420 people to visit their long-lost relatives. -
Western Saharan refugees to meet long-lost families
5 Mar 2004 For the first time in decades, Saharan refugees will be able to meet the spouses, children and relatives they left behind, as UN agencies start weekly shuttle flights between Western Sahara and Algeria's camps. -
Ringing the changes for Western Sahara's exiles
14 Jan 2004 The UN refugee agency has established a phone link between refugees in a camp in Algeria and their relatives back in Western Sahara. UNHCR is also negotiating to start a mail service and family visits as part of a new package of confidence-building efforts for one of the world's oldest refugee groups. -
Western Saharan refugees need food aid urgently, say UNHCR, WFP
19 Dec 2003 High levels of malnutrition and anaemia among long-time refugees in western Algeria's camps have prompted the UN refugee agency and the UN World Food Programme to appeal for urgent contributions and speedy delivery of food aid. -
Western Saharan refugees may soon be able to visit, call home
16 Dec 2003 The UN refugee agency has joined a high-level UN mission to meet Algerian and Moroccan officials this week that will discuss proposals to re-establish links between Saharawi refugees and their families in Western Sahara through direct phone, mail and even travel services.