Villages in the north-east of the country are struggling to cope with an influx of refugees fleeing unrest in Côte d'Ivoire. The country is in the midst of a dangerous stand-off after both presidential candidates claimed to have won the second round of the presidential election on November 28th and set up rival administrations. The Economic Community of West African States, along with most of the international community, has sided with Alassane Ouattara. However, as neither side is willing to back down, the risk of the country once more splitting in two, pitting Laurent Gbagbo and the army against Mr Ouattara and the northern rebels, is a distinct possibility. This would be perilous for the region, as porous borders and easy access to weapons means that instability could be quickly exported to neighbouring countries. Nearly 40,000 people have crossed the border into Liberia since December, and have settled initially among villagers, sharing their food from the recent harvest and putting pressure on already limited water supplies and health services. The UN has predicted that the number of refugees could reach 100,000 by April and has started to construct two camps to house existing refugees and newcomers, to ease the burden that has fallen on already vulnerable rural areas.