The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has officially declared an end to refugee status for nationals of Ivory Coast, stating that the country has "turned the page" on bitter conflicts.

"The cessation of (refugee) status is a gesture that has legal value because the people who stay abroad are no longer refugees. But it also has an important symbolic value, because it indicates that the country has turned the page," Filippo Grandi told AFP on Monday during a visit to Ivory Coast.

Speaking on World Refugee Day, Grandi described the move as "the last act of the end" of the crises that have wracked the west African country, culminating in serious post-electoral clashes in 2010-2011, when incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo refused to admit defeat at the polls by challenger Alassane Ouattara.

Fighting rocked the commercial capital Abidjan, some 3,000 people were killed and at least half a million people fled to safety, according to official agencies.

The lifting of refugee status by the UNHCR will take effect on June 30 and concerns a few tens of thousands of refugees who sought refuge in neighbouring countries during the conflict, Grandi said.

The UNHCR estimated in September last year that Ivorians had, with some exceptions, no cause to benefit any longer from international protection. Of 325,000 refugees, 310,000 have already returned voluntarily to their country, the commissioner added.

"Everywhere in the world we see rather the opposite. I came here to show the exception and to say that it is possible to do it if there is a political will," he said, at a time when the UNHCR has counted more than 100 million refugees or displaced people around the world.

Ivory Coast, the former economic hub of west Africa and still the world's leading cocoa producer, is engaged in a reconciliation process, marked in June 2021 by Gbagbo's return after the International Criminal Court acquitted him of crimes against humanity during the crisis.

Children among five killed in Ivory Coast flooding
Abidjan (AFP) June 21, 2022 - At least five people, including four children, have died after torrential rain overnight led to flooding in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan, the emergency services said Tuesday.

"We have been called upon since 0300 (GMT and local). Sadly five people, including four children, have been killed," the head of the fire brigade, General Issa Sacko, told AFP.

"The children died in a landslip, and the adult was swept away by the water" in the city's Bingerville neighbourhood.

He added that 85 people had been rescued and one taken to hospital, while a building threatening to collapse was evacuated.

Heavy rain fell through the night, flooding many neighbourhoods of Abidjan and leaving several key roads unusable.

In Bingerville, residents cleared out their homes after the water finally receded.

One inhabitant, Pricile Ziyahe, said she had lost everything in the flood.

"I have nothing left at home. The water swept it all away. We have nothing to wear or eat," she said.

"All our documents and diplomas, everything's gone."

Cynthia Koffi, a medicine student, said the water rose so high it broke her home's windows.

"At the neighbours' opposite, you couldn't even see the garage roof anymore," she said.

Between Monday and midday Tuesday, some neighbourhoods in Abidjan received around 200 millimetres (eight inches) of rainfall, the equivalent of several weeks of rain, according to data from the Ivorian meteorological agency.

Residents posted images on social media showing the extent of the flooding in their homes or neighbourhoods and calling for help.

Last week, six people died after torrential rain triggered a landslip in the city's western neighbourhood of Mossikro.

Landslips during the rainy season are a notorious risk in the fast-growing city of five million people, with flood-prone areas often inhabited by low-income citizens.

Previous accidents claimed 18 lives in June 2018 and 13 in June 2020.

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