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22/07/2003
Help needed to end 'horrific' situation in Liberia, says UNHCR
The situation in Liberia has been described as "horrific" by the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, following a period of intense fighting between government and rebel troops which may have claimed the lives of around 600 civilians.
The UN aid agency said that it now had "grave concerns" over the fate of tens of thousands of people now crowding into Liberian capital, Monrovia.
To make the situation worse, the agency said, it has had to suspend an emergency sealift it had been operating since the start of the month to move Sierre Leonean refugees in Liberia back to their country's capital Freetown. Some 15,000 Sierra Leoneans, who originally fled a civil war in their own country, had been living in and around the Liberian capital. The UNHCR said it had lost contact with many of them since a resumption of fighting last Friday.
High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers has renewed his appeal for support for calls from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the rapid deployment in Liberia of an international peacekeeping force.
With the situation seriously destabilised in the west African nation – and its president calling for greater military intervention – the US has sent a three-ship battle group from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean Sea.
The USS Iwo Jima, the USS Carter Hall and the USS Nashville – carrying roughly 2,500 sailors and another 2,000 Marines – could be able to reach the coast of Liberia in seven to 10 days if called upon.
The US has also announced that a team of 21 US Marines has arrived in Monrovia today.
The troops were deployed after the US ambassador to Liberia requested assistance, however this was only to add security to the US embassy in the Liberian capital.
The prospect of more direct intervention is unlikely in the immediate future as fewer than 200 US service members are currently serving in western Africa.
(GMcG)
The UN aid agency said that it now had "grave concerns" over the fate of tens of thousands of people now crowding into Liberian capital, Monrovia.
To make the situation worse, the agency said, it has had to suspend an emergency sealift it had been operating since the start of the month to move Sierre Leonean refugees in Liberia back to their country's capital Freetown. Some 15,000 Sierra Leoneans, who originally fled a civil war in their own country, had been living in and around the Liberian capital. The UNHCR said it had lost contact with many of them since a resumption of fighting last Friday.
High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers has renewed his appeal for support for calls from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the rapid deployment in Liberia of an international peacekeeping force.
With the situation seriously destabilised in the west African nation – and its president calling for greater military intervention – the US has sent a three-ship battle group from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean Sea.
The USS Iwo Jima, the USS Carter Hall and the USS Nashville – carrying roughly 2,500 sailors and another 2,000 Marines – could be able to reach the coast of Liberia in seven to 10 days if called upon.
The US has also announced that a team of 21 US Marines has arrived in Monrovia today.
The troops were deployed after the US ambassador to Liberia requested assistance, however this was only to add security to the US embassy in the Liberian capital.
The prospect of more direct intervention is unlikely in the immediate future as fewer than 200 US service members are currently serving in western Africa.
(GMcG)
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05 August 2003
Nigerian peacekeepers arrive in capital of war-torn Liberia
The UN has begun transporting the first of two battalions of peacekeepers from Nigeria to the troubled west African state of Liberia.
Nigerian peacekeepers arrive in capital of war-torn Liberia
The UN has begun transporting the first of two battalions of peacekeepers from Nigeria to the troubled west African state of Liberia.
30 July 2003
Annan 'outraged' at humanitarian crisis in Liberia
The Secretary-General Kofi Annan has voiced his "outrage" at the continued high incidence of civilian casualties in and around the Liberian capital Monrovia, as the result of "indiscriminate shelling". He has demanded that all concerned respect the ceasefire agreed to in Accra.
Annan 'outraged' at humanitarian crisis in Liberia
The Secretary-General Kofi Annan has voiced his "outrage" at the continued high incidence of civilian casualties in and around the Liberian capital Monrovia, as the result of "indiscriminate shelling". He has demanded that all concerned respect the ceasefire agreed to in Accra.
07 October 2003
World body demands $3.5m for Liberia aid relief
The World Food Programme (WFP) has issued an appeal for an additional $3.5 million to provide relief in war-torn Liberia. The agency said that the money would be used to support a humanitarian air service that moves workers and cargo to Liberia and within the country – and to replace equipment looted and destroyed during fighting earlier this year.
World body demands $3.5m for Liberia aid relief
The World Food Programme (WFP) has issued an appeal for an additional $3.5 million to provide relief in war-torn Liberia. The agency said that the money would be used to support a humanitarian air service that moves workers and cargo to Liberia and within the country – and to replace equipment looted and destroyed during fighting earlier this year.
29 October 2004
Grim Darfur situation shows little improvement, says UN
Ahead of a visit to New York to report to the Security Council on the Darfur conflict in Sudan, the senior United Nations envoy to the country today warned that the situation in the strife-torn region "has not improved much during the past month".
Grim Darfur situation shows little improvement, says UN
Ahead of a visit to New York to report to the Security Council on the Darfur conflict in Sudan, the senior United Nations envoy to the country today warned that the situation in the strife-torn region "has not improved much during the past month".
02 October 2003
UN force begins Liberia 'stability' operation
The United Nations blue helmets have embarked on a stability mission to Liberia – a nation torn asunder by nearly 15 years of civil war, brutality, rape, looting and corruption.
UN force begins Liberia 'stability' operation
The United Nations blue helmets have embarked on a stability mission to Liberia – a nation torn asunder by nearly 15 years of civil war, brutality, rape, looting and corruption.
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