UN has 'grave concern' over Liberian refugees

The UN envoy for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) today voiced "grave concern" about the plight of the hundreds of thousands of civilians driven from their homes by weeks of fighting in Liberia.

UN envoy Francis Deng warned that the number of IDPs in Liberia continued to swell and their situation is worsening by the day as most lack access to food, clean water, and medical care, and basic sanitation facilities.

“Looting, rape and harassment of the civilian population by militia is reportedly widespread,” he said in a statement issued in Geneva. “From all accounts, the humanitarian crisis has become truly catastrophic.

“Of course, responsibility for ensuring the protection and assistance of civilians rests first and foremost with their government,” Mr Deng said. “However, when a government is unable to do so, as is clearly the case in Liberia, the international community, often acting in partnership with regional actors, can and should be called upon to play a role.”

Members of the UN Security Council are considering a draft resolution that may soon send a multinational force to quell the violence in Liberia. The debate continues despite UN relief workers inside the country’s war-ravaged capital warning that "conditions are critical, with food and water supplies running dangerously low, and fuel and equipment shortages continuing to hamper aid distribution".

Yesterday afternoon, the US circulated a draft resolution that would authorise member states to set up a "multinational stabilisation force" to support the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. Discussions on that text are now under way.

The UNHCR now fears that many of refugees could be headed for Guinea – which is already host to nearly 100,000 refugees, including some 70,000 from Liberia, more than 19,000 from Sierra Leone and nearly 6,000 from Ivory Coast.

In recent weeks, some 120 Liberian refugees have been arriving every week in Guinea's south-eastern border areas.

(GMcG)