Extra aid sent to tackle Liberia's humanitarian crisis

The government has committed another £4.7 million to help with the humanitarian crisis in Liberia – this brings the UK's total assistance to the country to £7.6 million for 2003.

The funds will be allocated to UN agencies, non-government organisations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to respond to immediate humanitarian needs.

Hilary Benn, Minister of State for International Development, said: "The people of Liberia have suffered terribly. This new assistance is intended to help them to survive and cope, by providing life saving support and services, while seeking to establish a basis to promote long term development."

On the ground in the Liberian capital Monrovia, security is still problematic, with daily reports of looting, carjacking, rape and burglary. The World Food Programme (WFP) continued distribution to some 9,000 displaced people, bringing the total number receiving food aid this week to 45,000. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and its partners continued their operation to chlorinate some 3,000 wells around Monrovia.

A UN assessment team arrived in Monrovia yesterday for a first-hand look at security and humanitarian conditions inside the war-torn capital.

The 11-member team will submit recommendations for the size, structure and mandate of a UN force, as requested by the Security Council.

Following a meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday, the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that progress had been made, and he hoped that "in the not-too-distant future we will be making even greater strides".

The Liberian government and two rebel movements signed the peace accord on Monday, paving the way for an interim government to take power in October to rebuild the nation and prepare for elections in two years' time.

The deal - brokered by representatives from the Ecowas and the UN Special Representative for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah - was signed two-and-a-half months after peace negotiations began in Accra, Ghana, and just one week after former President Charles Taylor left the country for exile in Nigeria on 11 August.

(gmcg)