Ethno-Net Database: Africa

Reports on Ethnic Relations / Rapports sur les relations éthniques

The following section is mainly consisted of part, full or summaries of articles taken from newspapers.
La section suivante est essentiellement constituée d'exraits, de la totalité ou de résumés d'articles issues de journaux .

IRIN

The Article: "Humanitarian workers and refugees still missing in the east"

The whereabouts of most of the 87 humanitarian workers and 5,268 refugees, returnees and third-country nationals who were dispersed by fighting in northeastern Liberia last week were still unknown, the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Monday. The refugees, returnees and TCNs, who had fled recent fighting in western Cote d'Ivoire, had been in a transit camp in Grand Gedeh County.

Two international staff from Action Contre la Faim (ACF) and two from Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), along with three WFP national staff who were among the 87, had arrived safely in Cote d'Ivoire. However more staff of ACF (40), an NGO called Liberians United to Save Humanity (13), Medecins Sans Frontieres-France (35), UNHCR (2), the United Methodist Committee on Relief (4) and WFP (4) were still missing, OCHA said in its weekly update for 23-31 March.

The workers who were based in Zwedru town, Grand Gedeh County - near the Ivorian border - were scattered as they sought cover during fighting on Wednesday night, allegedly between Liberian government forces and rebels from Cote d'Ivoire. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Liberia, Marc Destanne de Bernis, told IRIN contact was lost with the humanitarian workers on Thursday morning.

OCHA also reported that recent fighting near the Ricks Institute camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), 20 km west of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, had dislodged many IDPs, raising the caseload to about 21,390. Following the attack, the government had ordered IDP and refugee camps within Montserrado County relocated along the route to the airport. The proposed relocation involves an estimated 200,000 IDPs and about 19,000 Sierra Leonean refugees.

In the northeastern county of Bong, at least 30,000 persons, including residents of and IDPs from camps around the central town of Gbarnga, were also on the move due to renewed fighting. About 20,000 were being housed in four IDP camps in a town called Totota, OCHA reported.

Fighting between government troops and rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) continued in the densely populated town of Ganta in Nimba county, 247 km northeast of Monrovia. Ganta, another stronghold of President Charles Taylor, was attacked at mid-day on Saturday by what the Liberian defence minister, Daniel Chea, described as retreating LURD rebels from Gbarnga.

The LURD have fought to topple Taylor since 1999. Since the start of the year, they have intensified their fighting, moving close to Monrovia.

The Liberian government is to screen all able-bodied men in internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps and plans to move all IDP camps at least 100 kms away from the capital, Monrovia, to minimize exposure of IDPs to danger, Reginald Goodridge, minister of information told reporters on Wednesday.

The precautionary security measures, the minister said, were to protect the IDPs following an attack on the Ricks camp, 20 km west of Monrovia, by armed fighters on Tuesday. The measures would also prevent the IDPs from being recruited by LURD, the minister added.

The announcement followed a report by the government Liberia Refugee, Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) that at least 2,000 IDPs were abducted during the Tuesday raid on Ricks camp. The raid was conducted by rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and some IDPs were killed, LRRRC said in a statement that also called for a cessation of hostilities between government forces and the LURD.

There was heightened security in Monrovia on Thursday. Military sources said fighting was continuing on several fronts including Sasstown, a settlement just beyond the Po-River bridge, 25 kms west of Monrovia.

Early on Thursday morning, hundreds of IDPs including women and children from Virginia and Brewersville at the western suburbs of the capital city could be seen leaving their camps and moving towards the Bushrod Island side within the city.

Some of the IDPs told IRIN that the camps were not safe and heavy fighting was going on nearby. Bombardment from the Po-River and Sasstown could also be heard within the vicinity of the Virginia Checkpoint called Iron-Gate, on the western outskirts of the city.

Fighting between Liberian government troops and rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) group was reported on Tuesday at Kley junction, 35 km from the capital, Monrovia, as the rebels moved closer to the capital.

The sound of gunfire, which started at midday, caused panic among thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in several nearby camps including Ricks, Jah Tondo and Water-in-the-Desert. Residents of Monrovia were also worried and the main markets of Duala and Waterside were closed down. Cellular communication was interrupted briefly. Humanitarian sources said their staff were stopped by loyalist forces from driving out of the capital.

Defence Minister Daniel Chea was quoted by Reuters as confirming the attack on Kley junction, which is the closest the rebels have come to Monrovia in recent weeks.

Last week, fighting escalated in central Liberia as government forces attempted to retake Gbarnga, provincial capital of Bong County, from the rebels. Large numbers of government troops headed towards Gbarnga, 150 km north of Monrovia, on Saturday.

Residents of the town and surrounding areas had fled earlier to Monrovia and Totota, and also to Ganta, 55 km north of Gbarnga on the Guinean border, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported. Displaced people continued to arrive in Totota, 50 km southeast of Gbarnga, where an estimated 42,000 IDPs were being assisted. The IDPs, most of whom were from upper Bong and neighbouring Lofa County were being accomodated mainly in four camps.

IRIN

The Article: "Humanitarian agencies worried over scarce resources"

Continuing displacement of people from central Liberia due to fighting between government and rebels could quickly overburden the scarce resources of humanitarian agencies, the UN office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in New York on Tuesday.

"Fighting between Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebels and Liberian government forces, which has spread from western to central Liberia this week, has resulted in a new wave of displacement of civilian populations from their homes," OCHA said. "The sharp increase in the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) raises concerns as to whether there will be enough food, water, and health materials and that health and food security among IDPs could deteriorate rapidly. Aid agencies fear overcrowding in the camps could lead to heightened public health risk."

While existing facilities were still adequate to absorb the new influx, OCHA said, the current population movement to camps in Montserrado and Bong Counties could over stretch existing water and sanitation facilities, which could lead to epidemics. Montserrado County includes the capital, Monrovia. Bong is northeast of Montserrado.

"With the rainy season fast approaching, there were IDPs in camps at Bong and Montserrado without tarpaulin sheets. The influx of new arrivals places further strain on stocks of shelter material that were already insufficient," OCHA said. "Food security has become a critical issue as food aid stocks are being depleted quickly. Unless resources are found to cover the needs pending the arrival of shipments scheduled to arrive in May, a break in the pipeline is anticipated in April for pulses and in May for cereals."

Aid agencies, it added, would provide immediate assistance to the new arrivals. WFP was providing food aid to residents of eight IDP camps near Monrovia and others in Bong County. It was also working with inter-agency teams to register influxes. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and some NGOs were installing additional water bladders and increasing the number of sanitation facilities. Several other NGOs were working to expand shelters to accommodate additional influxes, bolster health clinics in Totota and Maimu, and supply food and water for people trekking towards Totota. Totota is a few km from Gbarnga, the administrative centre of Bong County, which was overrun by rebels last week.

"Humanitarian agencies are being forced to meet emergency needs on a shoe-string budget," OCHA said. "To date, the UN Inter-Agency Consolidated Appeal for 2003 has received just 1.5 percent of the total requirement of US$ 42.6 million."

Meanwhile, the Liberian parliament has passed a controversial presidential bill amending the country's elections law to allow IDPs to vote in camps during the 14 October general and presidential elections. The bill was passed by the Senate on 13 March in a closed door session. The House of Representatives had passed it earlier this month in another closed session.

Senate opposition leader Lamark Cox protested saying the senate lacked a quorum at the time the bill was passed. Out of the 26 members, only eight attended the session and two, including Cox, walked out after the bill was introduced, he said. A quorum requires 15 senators. On Monday, opposition spokesman Abdulai Kamara told IRIN that the opposition would study the bill carefully to see if it contravened the constitution.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) on Monday expressed profound concern at the continuing armed conflict in Liberia, its consequences and toll on the civilian population, the UNHCHR reported.

In a statement, Sergio Vieira de Mello, urged all parties to the conflict "to commit themselves immediately to the protection of civilians, especially their physical integrity and the means necessary for their survival and exhorts them to resolve their differences peacefully within the context of the rule of law and democratic principles."

The High Commissioner, the statement said, had continued to receive credible reports of serious abuses and violations of human rights and humanitarian law by both parties, including extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, deliberate targeting of civilians, abductions and forcible recruitment of children and displaced persons in camps.

"Parties to the conflict should ensure respect for human rights and humanitarian law in areas under their control and in the conduct of hostilities. Where these abuses and violations occur, parties have an obligation to bring perpetrators to justice," UNHCHR said. "The High Commissioner underlines that there can be no impunity for violations of human rights and humanitarian law."

UNHCHR endorsed an appeal by the Security Council and International Contact Group on Liberia to the Government of Liberia and the rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), to enter into cease fire negotiations.

The Liberian conflict has pitted government forces against the LURD since 1999 when the rebels took up arms to try and topple President Charles Taylor. Fighting has escalated in recent weeks, displacing thousands of people.

Fighting escalated in central Liberia over the weekend as government forces attempted to retake Gbarnga, provincial capital of Bong County, from the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). Defence minister Daniel Chea had ordered loyalist troops on Friday to observe a 48-hour ceasefire to allow civilians to leave the area.

In a hurriedly arranged news conference on Friday evening, Chea reported the capture of Gbarnga following what he called "a fierce battle". He said LURD had made a "tactical mistake" and vowed to launch a counter offensive against the rebels. "Those terrorists will regret their stay in Gbarnga," he told reporters in the capital, Monrovia.

Large numbers of government troops were seen heading towards Gbarnga, 150 km north of Monrovia, on Saturday. Residents of the town and surrounding areas had fled since early last week to Monrovia and Totota. Others had gone to Ganta, 55 km north of Gbarnga on the Guinean border, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Saturday. Displaced people continued to arrive in Totota, 50 km south east of Gbarnga where an estimated 42,000 IDPs mainly from Lofa and upper Bong counties were being assisted mainly in four camps.

"These camps are overwhelmed by the new influxes and aid agencies are constructing new reception centres in a bid to accommodate the new arrivals. As of 18 March, 6,480 persons have been registered in camps," OCHA said in a situation report. "Most of them are from the former camp of TV Tower and a few from Cari camps [a few kilometres outside Gbarnga] and are in possession of ration cards. Estimated 4,000 persons arrived in the camps of Totota without ration cards. They are mainly from Gbarnga and surrounding villages and their numbers are increasing."

Humanitarian agencies, OCHA said, were also worried about an estimated 30,000 people in the border town of Ganta which was now not accessible from Gbarnga. "If the fighting in Gbarnga spreads north, this population may flee to Guinea or east towards Sacleapea refugee camp (45 km away) where an estimated 1,000 Ivorian refugees and third-country nationals are being accommodated."

Gbarnga was once a headquarters of the former National Patriotic Front of Liberia, a fighting group led by Charles Taylor before he became president. The town has been a strategic military and political stronghold of the government. It links Monrovia to the Guinean and Cote d'Ivoire borders. Captured by LURD in May 2002, it was later retaken by government

General elections in Liberia will go ahead as scheduled on 14 October "even in the midst of war" between government soldiers and rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), President Charles Taylor said on Friday.

Taylor told a ceremony at the presidential palace at which two additional members of the country's Elections Commission were sworn into office that his government would "do everything possible to fund and supervise a free, fair and transparent election."

The two new commissioners, Mary Brownell and James Chelly, were recently nominated by Liberian political parties to serve on the commission. Brownell is a women's leader while Chelly was one of 18 persons convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for treason in 1999. He was granted clemency by Taylor in March 2002.

On suggestions that international organisations such as the UN provide support to ensure security during the electoral period, Taylor said: "This government will not accept an intervention force in this country." The presense of such a force, he said, would go against Liberia's sovereignty. He added: "What this government has requested the UN to do, is to send a capacity building force to Liberia that would assist in the training of our security forces."

Civil society, human rights groups, political parties and the international community have increasingly expressed concern that the on-going war between the government and the LURD threatened the holding of a free, fair and credible elections in the country. Some of these groups, including the Civil Society Movement of Liberia and the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, have said that with the war the elections cannot be free and transparent.

The International Contact Group on Liberia, which met last month in New York, also acknowledged that due to the insecurity caused by the armed conflict, conditions for free, fair elections did not exist at the moment in Liberia.

The United States ambassador to Liberia, John William Blaney, on Thursday strongly warned both the Liberian government and the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) to cease hostilities and engage in direct negotiations without preconditions, saying the country needed peace now.

Addressing a news conference in the capital, Monrovia, Blaney said: "This war needs to be stopped. The US condemns the idea of this war continuing year after year, with neither side likely to win and supports the pending Bamako peace talks."

Representatives of Liberia's government and rebels are expected to meet in Bamako, Mali.

Blaney told reporters: "Our view of achieving a ceasefire in Liberia necessitates direct negotiations between the two parties to the conflict, with a few facilitators involved, such as the Inter-Religious Council of Liberia and the government of Mali chairing these negotiations". Both parties, he added "must come to the table without preconditions, ready to end the violence, prepared to negotiate in good faith and commit to a ceasefire"

The envoy urged both the government and LURD to abide by and respect recommendations made by the International Contact Group of Liberia, which met in New York last month.

He described the human rights situation in Liberia as highly inadequate and said that in several respects it was worsening. "Military forces and LURD continue to violate the human rights of Liberian people," he said. "There has been a deplorable increase in forced military recruitment in IDP and refugee camps, in cities and elsewhere. This includes abducting children into their ranks, thereby exploiting and endangering them and causing enormous pain and hardship to their families. This must stop."

On the recent killing of three aid workers of the Adventist development and Relief Agency by armed men whom the government claimed to be Liberian mercenaries, Blaney said: "It is essential for the government to rapidly and aggressively investigate these murders and bring to justice those responsible. That investigation should include suspects who live in Liberia." According to the envoy, under President Charles Taylor "a pattern has emerged of falsely accusing and arresting those who fall into disfavour with somehow being connected with LURD."

Blaney told reporters that the Liberian government had issued a 48 km limit on the movements of US diplomats in the country including himself, because of a US State Department's warning in January against travel by US citizens to Liberia.

"The consequences of maintaining these restrictions are many and serious. For example, the government has made it impossible to for us to provide consular services to some American citizens in Liberia," Blaney said. "Our ability to assess and provide humanitarian assistance to Liberians in the camps will drop, and so will our ability to assess and monitor development projects."

Liberian security, he added, had also harassed, intimidated and sometimes arrested NGO representatives implementing the embassy's development projects and employees of a firm contracted to provide security for the embassy.

Escalating fighting between Liberian government forces and rebels has displaced at least 15,000 people from Gbarnga, 150 km north of the Liberia's capital, Monrovia, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Monday.

Gbarnga, the provincial capital of Bong County, was now empty and heavy artillery and shelling could be heard nearby. Staff of several international organizations had been evacuated.

The rebels, who belong to the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) group, were also reported to have approached Wenshu, 12 km from Gbarnga. Kley Junction, about 40 km from Monrovia, had also come under attack and fighting had intensified in parts of the western county of Bomi.

The LURD rebels overran the strategic St. Paul River bridge, 200 km northeast of Monrovia, on the border between Bong and Lofa Counties, and captured nearby Gbalatuah and Bellefanai towns, sources told IRIN. The bridge is on the highway to Cote d'Ivoire.

The TV Tower camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), which hosted about 2,000 people had also emptied. Over the weekend, the EU sent five trucks to the area to help transport the most vulnerable people.

OCHA and the Liberian government also dispatched an assesment team to Bong, which already hosted 60,000 IDPs.

Tension rose in Monrovia following fears of a possible attack on the capital by the rebels on Monday, prompting the security forces to carry out "cordon-and-search" operations in the town.

An exodus of civilians from the central Liberian town of Gbarnga, 150 km north of the capital, Monrovia, began on Sunday as clashes intensified in nearby Gbalatua between government forces and Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebels.

The exodus caused panic among other civilians in Kakata, the provincial headquarters of Margibi County on the Gbarnga-Monrovia highway, fleeing civilians told IRIN. Several roadblocks, they said, had been mounted by government soldiers on the highway to screen the displaced civilians. Several vehicles carrying heavily armed soldiers headed towards Gbarnga from Monrovia.

At Monrovia's Paynesville and Red Light suburbs, some of the displaced said they heard heavy artillery fire as they fled, and that it had sounded nearby. The displaced included students from a Roman catholic minor seminary and health workers from Phebe Hospital, the only referral health institution in the area.

They told IRIN on Monday that many of them had walked the whole distance after failing to get scarce public transport. A driver who usually travels on the route said commercial vehicles could not reach Gbarnga due to the "confusing situation" there.

Gbarnga has been a military and political stronghold of President Charles Taylor. It was captured by the LURD in May 2002 but retaken by government soldiers within a month. The LURD have since been trying to recapture it again.

Meanwhile, the Liberian government has asked its defence ministry to expand a team that is to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three aid workers of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) during a recent attack on Toe Town, near the Ivorian border. The government blamed the attack on Liberian mercenaries from nearby Cote d'Ivoire.

The dead aid workers included Emmanuel Sharpolu and Musa Kita, Liberian nationals, and Kaare Lund of Norway. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan last week demanded a full inquiry into their deaths.

Representatives of the European Union, the UN system in Liberia, the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, the National Bar Association and the Female Lawyers Association of Liberia are to be included on the team, a government statement said.

Fighting between Liberian government forces and rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) continued on Friday in the northwest of the country with serious exchanges at Kley junction, 40 km from the capital, Monrovia.

Armed activity was also reported to be encircling Bong County, north of Monrovia, with fighting in Zorzor, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in its weekly update for 8-15 March. The fighting was reported to be moving southwards towards Gbalatuah, 65 km north of Gbarnga. Sporadic gunfire could be heard in Bellefanai, about 40 km away. There were also reports of armed activity in Sanoyea about 50 km west of Gbarnga, OCHA added.

"As a consequence of increased armed activity north of Bong, hundreds of residents living in Gbalatuah and Bellefanai moved into Gbarnga during the week of 9 March [with] about 1,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing the Gbalatuah and Bellefanai areas into the Bong camps. However, as at 13 March, movement into the camps had reduced due to the return of calm along the St. Paul River Bridge that is the border between Bong and Lofa," OCHA said.

The northwestern front line was reported at Abojah in Suehn Mecca district, Bomi county while Bopolu and Tubmanburg, west of Monrovia were under LURD control. Government forces were stationed around Po River, 20 km from Monrovia.

Meanwhile the World Food programme (WFP) began lifting food rations to IDP camps in Montserrado County for distribution to previous IDP beneficiaries. The food assistance was expected to benefit some 111,525 IDPs in eight camps. A planned verification of new arrivals was expected to begin soon, following which, WFP would be in a better position to target food rations to the newly arrived beneficiary caseload.

In a related development, the Norwegian Refugee Council began the training of 40 teachers in preparation for its Rapid Response Education Programme in three of the Montserrado camps. Two school shelters, one in Blamasee and the other in Seigbeh were nearing completion and identification and registration of some 1,000 pupils was on going in Wilson, Blamasee and Seigbeh camps, OCHA said.

Some 55 Liberian security and armed forces personnel attended a two-day intensive training programme this week on the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The course, held on 10-11 March, was conducted by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It was attended by staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia, the police and the elite presidential guard service, the Anti-terrorist Unit.

OCHA-Liberia Protection Officer Awa Dabo said the training was part of a UNDP Protection Programme aimed at building the capacity of agencies engaging in the protection of IDPs and refugees.

The officers were taught the Guiding Principles of Internal Displacement, the convention and protocols relating to refugees, the Liberian constitution vis-a-vis the protection of IDPs, the Geneva Convention and protocols, IDP Camp management, the child rights convention and the protection of children in armed conflicts. Other topics included sexual and gender-based violence, juvenile justice, security for humanitarian workers and the responsibility of the security forces to protect civilians.

Facilitators came from the ICRC, Save the Children, UNICEF, the Liberian Refugees, Repatriation and Resettlement Commission, the Ministry of Justice, Defense Ministry, OCHA and UNHCR.

Liberia's Deputy Justice Minister for Legal Affairs, Theophilus Gould, urged security personnel to handle IDPs and refugees with a high degree of care and shield them from danger. He said people fleeing conflict had basic rights which security personnel were obliged to respect and protect.

INTER PRESS SERVICE (IPS)

The Article: "Opposition leader calls for postponement of elections" (Lansana Fofana)

''The environment is not conducive now for holding of elections, much more needs to be done about security perhaps putting in place a stabilisation force,'' says Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, leader of the opposition Unity Party.

''We are calling on the UN contact group on Liberia and all stakeholders to ensure the elections (scheduled for October) are postponed until such a time when a level playing field is created,'' Johnson-Sirleaf demands.

Johnson-Sirleaf was a presidential candidate in the 1997 elections but lost to incumbent leader Charles Taylor, for whom the aspiring front-running female politician has no love lost.

''Mr.Taylor is the main obstacle to peace and security in our country,'' Johnson-Sirleaf told IPS in Freetown the Sierra Leonean capital this week. ''He (Taylor) could do us a favour by exiting so that we'll start the real process of democratisation.''

Elections in the war-torn West African country are due in October but the Monrovia government clearly seems to be putting hurdles on the way for the opposition. ''There is this 10-year residency clause in the statutes meant to prevent key opposition figures and there is also the exit visa requirement. This one is designed to intimidate the opposition leaders so that we'll stay out of the country,'' Johnson-Sirleaf said.

The road to the ballot box in Liberia's political contest is clearly rocky as violence and intimidation of opponents of Taylor rise on a daily basis. About a dozen or so parties would be challenging Taylor's National Patriotic Party (NPP).

Even though Taylor is being fiercely criticised for gross human rights abuses and poor handling of the economy and the war with rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Development (LURD) in the northwest, there is little chance for the opposition to unseat the dictator if they are not united, analysts believe.

''It is true that we (opposition) have to come together and form a united front that will be capable of removing Mr. Taylor at the polls, but our individual egos and ideological differences are affecting that,'' Johnson-Sirleaf told IPS. ''We are certainly working towards that. I know it is not easy but we will get to that point, efforts are underway.''

She anticipates that the campaigning will be bloody if political attacks and intimidation of opposition supporters continue. ''It is my belief that the elections should be postponed in order to create and atmosphere conducive enough for elections to be conducted countrywide,'' she said.

Her fears are quite legitimate as they reflect those of the broader majority of Liberians.

For about four years, LURD rebels have been waging a bloody insurgency in a bid to topple Taylor and they do not seem quite enthusiastic in taking part in elections. Most towns and villages in the north and northwest have been destroyed and tens of thousands forced to flee into exile as refugees in neighbouring Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cote D'Ivoire. Disenfranchised, these refugees would not take part in the elections.

Liberian analyst Francis Toe, who lives in Freetown, told IPS: ''Any rush into elections would lead to a fraudulent process and make mockery of our democracy. It would certainly legitimise the dictatorship of Charles Taylor. We have to be careful.''

It would be in the interest of Taylor if the country goes to elections in October. His armed supporters have been intimidating opponents and disrupting their rallies. Even the vocal press is intimidated.

''The conflict has to be resolved diplomatically and all stakeholders brought round the table to ensure a level playing field for free and fair elections,'' said Johnson-Sirleaf.

Taylor and his officials are facing travel restrictions by the UN and the United States for their alleged engagement in gun-running and diamond smuggling with rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone, fuelling the war in that country.

Liberia, founded by a group of freed slaves in 1847, holds the elections on Oct 14.3. Liberia: Tension mounting on the Sierra Leone border Inter Press Service (IPS),

IRIN

The Article: "ECOWAS parliamentarians urge president to accept peace plan"

Parliamentarians from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have urged Liberian President Charles Taylor to accept recommendations made by the International Contact Group on Liberia with a view to ending the fighting between government fighters and the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).

The International Contact Group on Liberia comprises representatives of Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, the African Union, the European Union, the ECOWAS Secretariat and the United Nations. At a meeting on 28 February 2003 at the UN in New York, it recommended that the government of Liberia and LURD "enter immediately and without preconditions into negotiations on a ceasefire" and accept Mali as mediator on behalf of ECOWAS. It agreed to call on the UN Security Council to consider authorising a ceasefire monitoring mechanism.

The contact group also urged Liberia's government to quickly create conditions for free and fair elections, including the ceasefire, security, a process of national reconciliation, electoral reform and respect for human rights.

The five-member delegation from the ECOWAS parliament, throught its Speaker Aliuon Nouhoum Diallo of Mali, informed Taylor on Tuesday in Monrovia that the outcome of the contact group meeting was the best framework for ending the war in Liberia.

Taylor said in response that the issue of restoring peace in Liberia was a matter for ECOWAS and that the International Contact Group must work along with ECOWAS. He confirmed that he would attend the peace conference scheduled for Bamako, Mali, which he said was not just between LURD and his government, but a reconciliatory one that would be attended by all stakeholders, including all political and civil leaders.

"If this war was between the terrorists [LURD] and this government, it would have ended, but this is not so, there are big and powerful countries behind the war and we are working on that," he said. He added that the "war will end only if [Guinean] President [Lansana] Conteh and I can sit and discuss" because, he charged, LURD was using Guinean territory to attack Liberia.

The ECOWAS parliamentary group has been on a peace mission to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in connection with efforts to help resolve the Liberian conflict.

The group brokered a deal with LURD rebels in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in February in which the rebels agreed to dialogue with Taylor and dropped earlier demands for his resignation as a condition for a ceasefire.

IRIN

The Article: "Annan calls on government to bring perpetrators to justice"

While strongly condemning the brutal killing in Liberia of three humanitarian workers, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday called on the government to bring the perpetrators to justice.

In a statement issued in New York by a UN spokesman, Annan, demanded that the government determine the exact circumstances under which the incident took place. He also called on "all parties to the conflict in Liberia to reinforce measures taken to ensure the protection of civilians, including relief workers".

In a related development, the United Nations Country Team in Liberia on Wednesday extended its deepest sympathy to the families and colleagues of the three. A release from the office of the UN Resident Coordinator noted that in an effort to bring emergency aid and protection to individuals caught in the ongoing conflict in Liberia, humanitarian aid workers from the United Nations, the Red Cross and Red Crescent movements, NGOs and religious organisations routinely put their own lives at risk.

"The deaths of our three colleagues from ADRA are a painful reminder for us of the very real dangers that humanitarian workers face on the ground on a daily basis," it added.

Recent fighting in Toe Town on the border with Cote d'Ivoire, claimed the lives of an unknown number of civilians, including three aid workers from the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) who had gone to the area to visit one of their projects.

The three were Kaare Lund, ADRA director for Norway, Emmanuel Sharpolu, the agency's director for Liberia and a driver, Musa Kita. The three men had been reported missing since 28 February. Their deaths were confirmed last week by ADRA.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also reported on Friday that following the 28 February attack on Toe Town, an estimated 3,000 returnees, Ivorian refugees and third-country nationals [West African migrants] had fled the town, where the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had set up a transit centre for people displaced by fighting in western Cote d'Ivoire.

Meanwhile, the Liberian government in a release on Wednesday expressed its condolence to the international humanitarian and relief community in Liberia especially ADRA following the deaths of the three.

It blamed the attacks on the defunct United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) rebel movement and the Liberia Peace Council (LPC), saying they were being armed to fight alongside the government of the Cote d'Ivoire.

"The perpetration of massacres in parts of Cote d'Ivoire where these mercenaries now operate should come as no surprise to persons familiar with the history of the Liberian civil crisis and the modus operandi of these groups and their leaders," it said.

"Accordingly the governemnt of Liberia demands the immediate investigation and the prosecution of these unlawful combatants for murder and other atrocitious acts committed in contravention of international law. These actions are necessary to create a disincentive and mitigate the threats posed to the peace, security and stability of the sub region by armed non-state actors," it added.

IRIN

The Article: "Stop using child combatants, UNICEF director urges"

UNICEF's regional director for West and Central Africa, Rima Salah, has appealed to the Liberian government and the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) to stop using children as combatants.

Salah told a news conference in Monrovia on Saturday, at the end of a three-day assessment mission of UNICEF programmes and the general humanitarian situation in Liberia, that all parties to the Liberian conflict were bound by international obligations to protect children.

UNICEF, she added, was also extremely concerned at the plight of internally displaced children and refugee children who had fled war in neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire.

"UNICEF is working in close collaboration with the government, other UN agencies, the donor community and various implementing partners to provide a significant response to the emergency situation facing Liberia," Salah said. "At shelters set up for internally displaced persons and people fleeing the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, the UNICEF response has included the provision of safe drinking water, high-energy biscuits and therapeutic milk, essential drugs, vaccines as well as shelter materials."

UNICEF, she added, would lobby for more international assistance and funding to address the humanitarian needs of children in Liberia. She also appealed to Liberia's "belligerent parties to stop war and to open a corridor for peace where UNICEF and other aid agencies would have access" to children in conflict areas.

Salah held talks with the Liberian first lady, Jewel Howard-Taylor, and the government inter-agency team comprising of the gender, foreign affairs, health and planning ministries. She called for more partnership between the Liberian government and UNICEF.

Fierce fighting has been reported over the past few days between Liberian government troops and rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) group around the town of Bo Waterside, on the border between Liberia and Sierra Leone.

A humanitarian source in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, told IRIN on Monday that fighting was continuing as government forces battled to retake the western town from the rebels. A government helicopter gunship reportedly tried to bomb rebel positions on Saturday, but the rebels scattered into nearby plantations and forests.

LURD took control of Bo Waterside two weeks ago. News reports said the rebels had barricaded the bridge across the Mano River - the boundary between the two countries - and prevented civilians from moving between the Sierra Leonean village of Jendema and Bo Waterside. Liberian authorities had expressed concern that LURD could be getting supplies from Sierra Leone. However, news agencies later reported them as saying they had found out that the suspicion was groundless.

The humanitarian source told IRIN that the fighting in the west had led to fresh displacement. "The newly displaced are fleeing to Sierra Leone," the source said. No numbers were yet available.

As a result of the fighting, parts of western Liberia remained sealed off to public transport at Po River Bridge, about 20 km from Monrovia, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Friday.

OCHA also reported that following a 28 February attack on Toe Town on the border with Cote d'Ivoire, an estimated 3,000 returnees, Ivorian refugees and third-country nationals [West African migrants] had fled the town, where the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had set up a transit centre for people displaced by fighting in western Cote d'Ivoire.

"Some fled to Zwedru transit centres [about 73 km from Toe Town] and others towards Tapeta and villages along the road," it said. "Prior to the attack, the humanitarian community was considering relocating the returnees, refugees and third-country nationals to Zwedru in light continued insecurity in the area. Zwedru is hosting about 6,000 refugees, returnees and third country nationals."

Because of the situation in Toe Town, OCHA said, aid agencies had withdrawn from Zwedru, leaving only a few staff to monitor the situation.

The fighting in Toe Town claimed the lives of an unknown number of civilians, including three aid workers from the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) who had gone to the area to visit one of their projects. The three were Kaare Lund, ADRA director for Norway, Emmanuel Sharpolu, the agency's director for Liberia and a driver, Musa Kita. The three men had been reported missing since 28 February. Their deaths were confirmed last week by ADRA.

"With tremendous sadness...ADRA joins the families of its three slain workers in mourning the tragic loss of these courageous and dedicated men," the agency said in the statement on Sunday.

ADRA workers operating in wartorn regions were increasingly at risk of being in harm's way, but were dedicated to relieving the suffering of refugees and others affected by war, Charles Sandefur, ADRA's international president, said.

"Emmanuel, Kaare and Musa were doing just that when they lost their lives and we honor their commitment to demonstrating God's love in wartorn Liberia," he said. "At the same time we recognise that each of them derived an invaluable source of strength and courage from their families and we mourn with them at this time."

ADRA commended UNHCR and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for coordinating and carrying out the search for its workers under "extremely dangerous conditions".

UNHCR on Friday expressed extreme sadness at the killing of the three men and also said it remained extremely concerned at the fate of some 2,500 Ivorian refugees and other West African nationals who had been staying in its transit centre in Toe Town.

The bodies of two ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) workers who had been missing since 28 February were found close to Toe Town, eastern Liberia, the agency said in a news release on Thursday.

The release quoted Liberia's Defence Minister Daniel Chea as saying that the bodies of Emmanuel Sharpolu, acting ADRA Liberia director, and driver Musa Kita had been found in grave near the town, which is on the Liberia-Cote d'Ivoire border. It said no details were available on the whereabouts of Kaare Lund, ADRA director for Norway, who was travelling with them.

"This news has obviously come as a great shock to all of us as these are three of our most seasoned workers," Charles Sandefur, ADRA International president, said. "Emmanuel and Musa have each been with ADRA for at least 10 years and have consistently demonstrated their dedication to the people of Liberia. Our hearts and prayers go out to their wives and children at this time."

ADRA, along with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), was "tirelessly seeking confirmation and resolution to this terrible tragedy". "Though continued unrest in the area has significantly hampered fact-finding missions, everything humanely possible is being done on both sides of the border to obtain additional information, Sandefur added.

The three men had been on their way to visit an ADRA project funded by the Norwegian government, the release said.

Liberia's defence spokesman, Philibert Browne, said on Wednesday that the ADRA vehicle had been ambushed by "retreating LURD rebels" during weekend fighting in Toe Town, and that its "eight" occupants were killed.

Toe Town, a transit point for people fleeing fighting in Cote d'Ivoire, had been captured on Saturday by what the Liberian government described as "Liberian mercenaries armed and backed by the Ivorian government". Browne told IRIN government forces had "taken full control of Toe Town as of Monday". The Liberian government sent a team of journalists to the town to verify that it had been recaptured.

UNHCR said on Monday that over 2000 Ivorian refugees and other third-country nationals had fled the transit centre and scattered in different directions when the town was attacked. "We have reports that some are fleeing south towards Zwedru and north towards Tappita," UNHCR Representative in Liberia Moses Okello told IRIN

Zwedru is the administrative capital of Grand Gedeh County, which includes Toe Town. Tappita is a district in Nimba County, which borders on Grand Gedeh.

IRIN

The Article: "Aid workers missing after border town fighting"

Three workers of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) who were caught up in fighting in Toe Town, close to Liberia's border with Cote d'Ivoire border, were reported missing on Tuesday by the agency. Other sources said eight people who were travelling in an ADRA vehicle were killed during the fighting between Liberian government forces and rebels.

ADRA said in a statement that it had received confirmed reports to the effect that Emmanuel Sharpolu, its Liberia director, Karre Lund, its Norway director, and driver Musa Kita were missing. The three men were on their way to a Norwegian-funded project when they drove into the battle zone. The agency noted that ADRA's implementing partner, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), had identified the remains of ADRA's burned-out vehicle.

"Efforts are underway to locate the three ADRA workers still missing, but continued unrest in the area poses a challenge," the statement said. "Updates on the situation will be released as and when information becomes available."

Liberia's defence spokesman, Philibert Browne, reported that the ADRA vehicle had been ambushed by "retreating LURD rebels" during weekend fighting in Toe Town, and that its "eight" occupants were killed.

UNHCR's Resident Representative, Moses Okello told IRIN on Monday that over 2000 Ivorian refugees and other third-country nationals had fled the transit centre and scattered in different directions when the town was attacked. "We have reports that some are fleeing south towards Zwedru and north towards Tappita," Okello said.

Zwedru is the administrative capital of Grand Gedeh County, which includes Toe Town. Tappita is a district in Nimba County, which borders on Grand Gedeh.

Fighting that erupted on Friday in Toe Town, site of a refugee transit camp in eastern Liberia, sent more than 2,500 Ivorians, third-country nationals and locals fleeing in different directions, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Monday.

It was the second time that the refugees were being displaced since they had just fled an armed conflict in neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire, the agency said in a news release on Monday.

"Citizens from Toe Town and few Ivorian refugees arrived in Zwedru [to the north] over the weekend and told UNHCR field staff that the town was partly burned and deserted, with bodies lying in the streets," UNHCR's Emergency Coordinator Jo Hegenauer said. "We have no information on the state of our transit centre so far."

The transit centre was established by UNHCR in December 2002 for some 2,500 people of various nationalities fleeing the conflict in western Cote d'Ivoire.

"This development is a very serious one not only for Liberia but also for UNHCR operations in this part of the world," the statement quoted Moses Okello, UNHCR Representative in Liberia as saying. "UNHCR has assisted close to 100,000 persons who have fled the Ivorian conflict since mid-November, but now even this relative 'safe haven' inside Liberia is coming under attack, forcing thousands of people to flee again," he added.

The Liberian government sent reinforcement over the weekend to regain control of the area. On Monday government forces said they controlled the town, but the situation along the highway and in surrounding areas were still reportedly very volatile, the agency noted.

Since fighting spread to western Cote d'Ivoire last November, UNHCR has assisted about 40,000 Ivorians, 45,000 Liberian refugees and 13,000 third-country nationals - mainly Malians and Burkinabe - forced to flee to eastern Liberia.

Meanwhile, the United States government has contributed an additional US $50 million to UNHCR's 2003 annual programmes, US $35 million of which will be used in Africa, the office of the spokesman for the State Department said on Friday.

IRIN

The Article: "Liberia-Côte d'Ivoire: Des combats signalés des deux côtés de la frontière entre le Liberia et la Côte d'Ivoire"

Les autorités de la Défense de la Côte d'Ivoire et du Liberia ont signalé des attaques par des groupes à partir de leur territoire respectif contre des lieux de chaque côté de leur frontière. Ces informations n'ont pas été confirmées dans l'immédiat par des parties tiers.

Les autorités de la Défense dans la capitale libérienne, Monrovia, ont indiqué que les combats intenses ont continué lundi entre les troupes de l'armée régulière et les insurgés à Toe Town, aux abords de la frontière ivoirienne. La localité a été saisie vendredi par le groupe rebelle Libériens unis pour la réconciliation et la démocratie (LURD), si l'on en croit les autorités libériennes.

Le porte-parole de la Défense libérienne, Philibert Browne, a déclaré ce lundi à IRIN que l'armée libérienne " se battait contre les rebelles pour reprendre le contrôle de la localité " qui était, avant cette attaque, un point de transit pour les réfugiés ivoiriens et pour les Libériens fuyant le conflit armé en Côte d'Ivoire.

Le ministre libérien de la Défense, Daniel Chea, a affirmé dans une conférence de presse samedi à Monrovia que Toe Town avait été attaquée par deux pelotons d'insurgés " armés et épaulés par le gouvernement ivoirien ". Il a précisé que l'offensive a été lancée depuis Toulepleu, une ville située du côté ivoirien de la frontière.

"Le fait que la République de Côte d'Ivoire encourage les mercenaires libériens, qui se battent du côté de ses propres troupes dans sa crise civile, à franchir la frontière du territoire libérien équivaut à une déclaration de guerre ", s'est exclamé M. Chea " [...] ceux qui entendent poursuivre cette vague de violence contre notre peuple doivent comprendre que nous nous réservons le droit de légitime défense ".

Cependant, les forces armées de la Côte d'Ivoire ont démenti les allégations de M. Chea. Les forces armées " voudraient indiquer qu'aucun mercenaire étranger ne se bat à ses côtés et que les déclarations du ministre de la Défense du Liberia constituent des accusations sans fondement ", a déclaré dimanche le porte-parole des forces armées, le lieutenant colonel Jules Yao Yao.

"D'un autre côté ", a-t-il poursuivi, 'le chef d'état-major de l'armée reconnaît que la situation dans l'ouest de la Côte d'Ivoire reste préoccupante, au point que différents acteurs du conflit sont difficiles à identifier".

Deux groupes rebelles, le Mouvement pour la Justice et la Paix (MJP) et le Mouvement patriotique du Grand Ouest (MPIGO), opèrent du côté ivoirien de la frontière entre la Côte d'Ivoire et le Liberia. Le MJP a son quartier général dans la localité de Man, tandis que le territoire du MPIGO est plus au sud, autour de la localité de Danane. A l'instar du gouvernement ivoirien, les deux groupes ont été accusés d'utiliser des combattants libériens.

Dimanche, le chef du MPIGO, Félix Doh, a proclamé que des hélicoptères de combat de l'armée ivoirienne avaient attaqué la localité de Bin-Houyé, qui se trouve près de la limite-sud du territoire contrôlé par le MPIGO. Il a souligné que l'attaque, perpétrée samedi, a tué une vingtaine de civils et blessé beaucoup d'autres. Cité par l'AFP, M. Doh aurait déclaré " avoir donné l'ordre de riposter contre l'offensive ".

"Une fois que les hélicoptères se mettent à bombarder, je pense qu'il n'y a plus de cessez-le-feu ", a rapporté l'AFP en citant M. Doh . Le cessez-le-feu a été signé à la fin de l'année dernière.

M. Yao Yao a néanmoins proclamé que les forces armées ivoiriennes " ont été obligées d'apporter une réponse appropriée à une attaque contre leurs positions à Toulepleu", située à une vingtaine de kilomètres au sud de Bin-Houyé. Il a ajouté que l'attaque a été perpétrée par des " hommes lourdement armés parlant essentiellement anglais " et " que s'il y a eu des morts, cela ne peut s'être produit que durant les affrontements car l'ennemi a probablement subi de nombreuses pertes ".

M. Yao Yao a également déclaré dimanche qu' "un élément ennemi, évalué à 30 personnes environ, a été détecté à Tambly", un village à 5 km à l'Est de Duékoué, une ville contrôlée par le gouvernement, à l'Est des positions rebelles. " Une offensive de reconnaissance est en cours pour déloger et détruire cet élément ", a-t-il informé.

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