Ivory Coast: Children and families fleeing the violence - in pictures

Zaye, 15, fled her village in Ivory Coast when she heard gun shots nearby. At the time, her father was several miles away at the family farm so she ran alone with her three younger siblings. She is now staying with a host family in Gblarlay, Liberia. Save the Children protection teams are visiting the four youngsters regularly to check on their welfare. More than 100,000 Ivorian refugees have now registered in Liberia Photograph: Glenna Gordon/Save the Children

Marie fled her home with her young son Michael. “I saw the soldiers in town… they killed an old man. Two soldiers with cutlasses chased me. They finally stopped chasing me, but I was so scared I kept running and running until I fell and cut open my knee. I ate raw cassava and slept outside for two nights with my baby, Michael. We were both crying. Michael was sick but there was no medicine to give him, nothing" Photograph: Glenna Gordon/Save the Children

Marie was reunited with the rest of her family at the border and is now staying close to the border with an Ivorian family of 10, along with 13 other refugees. She says: “I want to stay here. I’m tired of running. From here my husband can go into the bush and find something to eat. I won’t go back until there is one president." The political stand-off in Ivory Coast following last year's presidential election continues. Fighting between supporters of Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara has intensified over the past week Photograph: Glenna Gordon/Save the Children

Evelyn, 17, who is pregnant, fled alone across the border. Her family doesn’t know where she is. She worries about never seeing her family or her boyfriend again. "I heard the knock first, and then I heard a gun fire. I ran and ran, and felt the pain in my hips and legs. I worried for the baby, since I was sleeping in the bush and not eating good things or drinking good water" Photograph: Glenna Gordon/Save the Children

Evelyn says: “I want Gbagbo and Ouattara to know that because of them, innocent people are dying so they need to come to a conclusion. They aren’t the ones who are suffering from the fighting; it’s us who suffer." On Thursday UN forces had surrounded the last troops loyal to Gbagbo, renewing hope that the presidential incumbent will stand down Photograph: Glenna Gordon/Save the Children

Stephanie, 18, who is seven months pregnant, also ran from the post-election violence in the Ivory Coast. She spent three days in the jungle without clean drinking water or sufficient food Photograph: Glenna Gordon/Save the Children

The influx of refugees into border areas of Ivory Coast and Liberia is causing a serious strain on shelter, water, sanitation and food resources in the area. Many refugees are sleeping outside, and some reported that they had not had a meal in as many as four days Photograph: Glenna Gordon/Save the Children

Deplay, three, and Ibrahim, five, who fled with their family, say they haven't had enough to eat since they arrived in Liberia one month ago Photograph: Glenna Gordon/Save the Children

A young girl looks through luggage at Samuel's home. Samuel is the principal of the elementary school in Buutuo, Liberia, and is hosting nearly 50 people, all of whom are sleeping four or five to a mattress, and nearly 10 to a room. Samuel's family is low on space, food, and other critical supplies Photograph: Glenna Gordon/Save the Children

Ivorian refugees wait at a food distribution point in New Yourpea, Liberia Photograph: Glenna Gordon/Save the Children

Nadj, 10, waits in line for food, along with her sister and pregnant aunt in Gblarlay, Liberia. Save the Children is warning that the host community will not have the capacity to cope with the increasing number of refugees in terms of food, accommodation and other basic services Photograph: Glenna Gordon/Save the Children

Save the Children's protection unit registers some of the increasing number of vulnerable children in Gblarlay, Liberia, who have fled the violence in Ivory Coast Photograph: Glenna Gordon/Save the Children