THE human exodus from Sierra Leone is growing with an estimated 10 000 refugees, including rebels who may be fleeing advancing government troops, massed on a river trying to flee to Guinea, says the United Nations (UN). A total of 20 000 Sierra Leoneans are expected to enter Guinea this month, joining 14 000 of their countrymen who have fled renewed fighting since May, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Guinean authorities – reluctant to let more refugees in for fear of rebel infiltration – have agreed to maintain an ”open-door policy” for asylum-seekers if they are moved inland. In all, Guinea has taken in 331 000 Sierra Leone refugees since civil war broke out in 1991. A peace agreement was signed in July 1999 but the RUF was slow to disarm and has retained control of many areas in the north and east. – Reuters