She ran away, ran to the town and said the rebels have crossed . . . People fled all over, some fled all the way to Ouende-Kenema. . . . It is especially hard for children. One pregnant woman was in labor when the panic hit. She had a stillbirth on the way when she was fleeing.
Grown men have more strength to go ahead than children.
There is also a risk that refugee camps could become infiltrated by armed elements. Some aid workers suspect that RUF rebels had infiltrated the Toumandou camp, located near the Sierra Leonean border in the Gueckedou prefecture, before an attack on the camp in late August 1998. The Guinean government also expressed concern in May 1999 that rebels had infiltrated refugee camps in the Forecariah area. However, Human Rights Watch did not find evidence of rebel infiltration in refugee camps in the Gueckedou area in February and March 1999. On the contrary, the Guinean government and the refugees themselves had prevented rebel soldiers from seeking refuge in the camps.