( CNN ) -- About 14,000 Ivory Coast residents escaping their country 's political instability and violence have fled to eastern Liberia in what has been an arduous journey , the United Nations refugee agency said Saturday . People are walking several hours or days before they get on barges to the rivers bordering the West African nations , the U.N. high commissioner for refugees said . A few deaths have been reported among the refugees , including a child who drowned during the crossing of the Cestos River into Butuo . Observers are seeing malnourished children and people with malaria , respiratory infections and diarrhea . `` We are referring the most severe cases to Saclepea , a five-hour drive on very rough roads . In some locations without ambulances we are transferring the patients on board UNHCR vehicles , '' the agency said in a statement . `` Some are arriving with severely swollen feet , like a 75-year-old man whom we transferred from Butuo , one of the main entry points into Liberia . Some families said they had walked three to four days through the bush with little food . '' The displacement is the fallout of the November 28 presidential runoff , after which the country 's Independent Electoral Commission named opposition leader Alassane Ouattara the winner . But its Constitutional Council invalidated those results and declared that incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo won . The country has been paralyzed by a political stalemate and scores of people have died in violence there . International powers , such as the United States , the United Nations , and the African Union have recognized Ouattara as the winner and are urging Gbagbo to cede power . Leaders from the Economic Community of West African States on Friday warned they will not hesitate to use `` legitimate force '' to defuse the crisis if Gbagbo fails to step down . The refugee agency said `` humanitarian needs are increasing for the mostly women and children refugees as well as for the villagers hosting them '' and the growing number of newcomers is affecting host communities . The agency has so far registered 14,000 Ivorian refugees in eastern Liberia and has prepared supplies to help up to 30,000 refugees in the area . `` Food supplies are running short despite efforts by the government and humanitarian agencies to bring in more assistance , '' the agency said . `` Our staff report that host community houses are full and congested . In the area of Butuo for example there are homes where 7 to 20 family members share a single room , while others sleep in corridors or on verandas . '' The U.N refugee agency is concerned about reports that some members of the Forces Nouvelles `` are preventing people from freely crossing into Liberia via the Loguato border crossing point . '' That group supports Ouattara . `` This is causing refugees from the Danane villages to deviate their route by up to 80 kilometers southward to enter Liberia . UNHCR is calling for the protection of civilians and respect for the right to seek asylum without hindrance . ''
A few deaths have been reported , including a drowned child . Some people have slogged through the bush for days with little food . President Laurent Gbagbo wo n't step down , despite international calls to do so .