Sierra Leone
WFP concerned about situation for civilian population

afrol, 20 June - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has today expressed grave concern that fighting in parts of northern and eastern Sierra Leone is causing the displacement of civilians in large numbers and disrupting food aid and other humanitarian assistance deliveries.

Due to insecurity, WFP was forced on Thursday to delay food distribution to over 16,000 displaced in Lungi. The aid agency had also called back a food convoy destined to more than 14,000 displaced people in Port Loko.

For the past six weeks, WFP and its partners have registered over 85,000 displaced people in and around Freetown, Lungi, Port Loko and Mile 91. Most of the displaced fled their homes in the northern towns of Lunsar, Makeni and Magburaka due to recent fighting in these areas.

"Displaced people are arriving in poor shape and had to leave behind all their belongings," said Patrick Buckley, WFP Representative in Sierra Leone. "Many are scattered on the axis Freetown-Mile 91 and are living in dire conditions in schools or disused buildings."

WFP is also deeply concerned about the plight of thousands of displaced people stranded in non-government held areas. Their situation could rapidly deteriorate due to the lack of food hardly available in isolated rural regions from May to September during the seasonal heavy rains, a period known in Sierra Leone as the "hunger season".

For the last ten years, fighting in Sierra Leone has severely disrupted farming and cut-off large parts of the country from commercial food. Tens of thousands of Sierra Leoneans have lost all their property and income generating activities and are now only relying on relief supplies provided by aid agencies such as WFP.

WFP provided food last month to over 200,000 people in Sierra Leone, mostly war-affected farmers, children, pregnant and lactating women and disabled and elderly people.

Source: World Food Programme

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