afrol News, 8 June - Despite the ongoing Liberian peace talks in Accra, Monrovia this weekend has been the scene of fierce fighting between LURD rebels and troops loyal to President Charles Taylor. Dead bodies are reported to "litter the streets" of the troubled Liberian capital.

Thousands of residents last week fled into the city from suburbs to the north of Monrovia, where fighting between rebel and loyal troop was heaviest. This weekend, however, many were caught in the crossfire as Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebels closed into the city centre. A UN correspondent counted 113 dead bodies lying in the main avenue that leads north from Monrovia Freeport towards the western outskirts of the city.

Ramin Rafirasme, West African spokesman for the World Food Programme (WFP) said the situation was deeply worrying. "People are in the street, in the rain. The situation remains very tense in Monrovia," according to Mr Rafirasme. The UN estimates that there about 200,000 people have been internally displaced within Liberia by four years of civil war. About half of these were living in eight camps on the outskirts of Monrovia.

The latest fighting broke out on Wednesday as peace talks between Taylor's government and LURD formally opened in Ghana. But the talks have been stalled since then by the renewed fighting, which has brought the rebels closer than ever before to the heart of Monrovia.

Different rebel groups now control 13 out of Liberia's 15 counties, while troops loyal to Mr Taylor are concentrated in the capital and in an eastern outlet. LURD controls the northern and western parts of the country, while another group, MODEL, controls the south-eastern part.

As fighting continues to rage in and around the capital city of Liberia, the UN says it is "extremely concerned at the deteriorating situation." UN relief agencies report they are struggling against pounding rains to help thousands of terrified civilians driven from their homes in search of safe haven in western Côte d’Ivoire.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the continuing conflict in Liberia has displaced tens of thousands of refugees and locals near Monrovia, and sent more than 23,000 Liberians fleeing into western Côte d'Ivoire in the last two weeks. Poor weather conditions are making aid efforts all the more difficult.

On Thursday, UNHCR staff in Liberia reported that resurgent fighting between the government and LURD near Monrovia had spread to camps that hosted Sierra Leonean refugees. Nearby, the sprawling camps for internally displaced Liberians were also affected. The camps were deserted, and tens of thousands of refugees and displaced people were seen seeking refuge in various locations in Monrovia. Some of the agency's local staff were also displaced from their homes.

As the conflict also continues to rage in eastern Liberia, UNHCR has learned that a group of 1,000 Ivorian refugees who had earlier fled their country's civil war for Harper in south-eastern Liberia are now asking for help to return home. The Ivorian army is exploring ways to escort them along the 18-kilometre stretch of road to the border crossing at Prollo, and then across the river in dugout boats. About 1,000 Malian and Burkina Faso nationals are also believed to be stuck in Harper.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) said security conditions were deteriorating daily in Liberia. The agency reported that without any peaceful solution, there would continue to be large numbers of people becoming displaced inside the country, and there would also be Liberians moving into neighbouring countries.

The fighting had stopped WFP from distributing food to the 115,000 displaced persons in camps around Monrovia. To date, 70 percent of the country was inaccessible to humanitarian organisations because of the intense fighting.

By staff writers

© afrol News

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