Liberia
Tens of thousands flee Liberian fighting

afrol News, 29 January - As new fihting has broken out north of the Liberian capital, tens of thousands of civilians are added to the booming number of the country's internally displaced. Also Sierra Leonean refugees wanting to return are among the newly displaced.

Spokesman Kris Janowski of the UN refugees agency UNHCR today informed about a new outbreak of fighting in Liberia's Sawmill area, 100 kms north of the capital, Monrovia. This had reportedly displaced tens of thousands of people. 

- Those uprooted by the fighting include Liberians but also Sierra Leonean refugees who had sought refuge in Liberia, said Janowski. "The people who fled the fighting have now gathered at Klay Junction, some 35 kms outside Monrovia." 

There could be as many as 100,000 displaced people in Klay, according to government figures. Among the displaced are Sierra Leonean refugees who were living in Lofa and Gbarpolu counties and who are now fleeing the fighting and joining existing camp populations. 

Since fighting intensified in Liberia's northern counties in December, more than 6,000 new arrivals have been registered by UNHCR in various camps around Monrovia, including Sinje, VOA, Samukai town and Banjor.

Although there were initial reports of refugees packing their bags in Sinje camp and getting ready to go back to Sierra Leone, a visit yesterday to Sinje by UNHCR officials helped to calm the situation in the camp. Refugee leaders were taken to Monrovia to attend a meeting on the planned repatriation to Sierra Leone. 

UNHCR was to go to the camp again today, Janowski informed. A pre-registration campaign in Liberia's six camps for Sierra Leonean refugees, which started in early January, has already recorded almost 6,000 candidates for return. A proper registration campaign was to follow shortly, before a larger scale return could begin. 

There has been fighting in northern Liberia since 1998 but it has intensified significantly since last September, particularly in Lofa County, which is more or less controled by rebels. The rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), which has bases in neighbouring Guinea, is leading the fighting.

The LURD is thought to be led by former chief of staff Charles Julu, who served in the regime of Samuel Doe, assassinated in 1990 after Taylor launched an insurgency. After the Liberian government sponsored attacks on Guinea about one year ago, Guinea is reported to have increased its support to the LURD rebels, enabling them to launch attacks far into Liberian territory.

Sources: Based on UNHCR and afrol archives