10 Jul 2003

Nearly two thousand people displaced by Keke on Guadalcanal

3:23 pm on 10 July 2003

Refugees escaping the Solomon Islands rebel Harold Keke continue to trickle into Honiara from the Weather Coast of Guadalcanal.

Nearly 15 hundred people, or 338 families, are now registered with the Red Cross as internally displaced people.

They are being housed in and around Honiara in makeshift villages, or being cared for by relatives already in the capital.

The local Red Cross co-ordinator Rex Tara says that around four hundred people are also known to be homeless and trying to fend for themselves on the Weather Coast.

Keke announced at the weekend that he would ceasefire but Mr Tara says that the displaced people don't accept that promise.

He says there has been a number of new arrivals in recent days, and more people are expected.