UN official says civil war may engulf Monrovia if no ceasefire

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that Liberia's civil war could engulf the capital Monrovia, where half a million people are already in a desperate situation, unless President Charles Taylor and rebel forces can be persuaded to negotiate an early ceasefire. The head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Liberia, Ali Muktar Farah, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York, on Thursday that hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people in war-torn Liberia were desperate for help. "If [a ceasefire] does not happen, the conflict will escalate and engulf the capital, Monrovia, where half a million people are in a desperate situation," he said. "It could also threaten the prevailing peace in next-door Sierra Leone." Farah urged the Security Council to quickly reschedule a mission to West Africa which was postponed earlier this week. He urged the Council to convince Taylor to negotiate a ceasefire with rebels. An International Contact Group has invited the government and rebels to a first round of peace talks in the Ghanaian capital Accra on June 2. Taylor has indicated that he will attend personally, but diplomatic sources said the rebels were unhappy with the venue and would prefer Dakar in Senegal. The Security Council mission to West Africa, which had been set for 15-23 May, was delayed due to what Council President Munir Akram of Pakistan said were logistical reasons. It would however go ahead within weeks, he added. Scheduled to visit Nigeria then Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the mission would demonstrate the Security Council's continuing interest in West Africa. It would assess obstacles to improved cooperation in the region and examine links between the conflicts in Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone. The mission would also look at the use of mercenaries, arms trafficking, the refugee situation and protection of civilians caught up in conflicts. Farah said Taylor did not want to deal with the Security Council and the UN, preferring instead to negotiate with the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and other African bodies. This was demonstrated by Taylor's refusal to meet the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, when he visited Monrovia on Wednesday, the OCHA representative said. Farah said the Liberian president was "mad" at the Security Council for renewing sanctions against his government earlier this month, including an arms embargo. "He feels his hands are tied by the Security Council," Farah said. Lubbers who was visiting Liberia as part of a West African tour, said in Monrovia that the humanitarian situation in the country had "gone from bad to worse." He said the civil war had paralyzed humanitarian work and prevented refugees from returning home. "I see the misery. It is simply overwhelming," Lubbers told reporters in Monrovia. Calling for a ceasefire, the UNHCR chief said: "Until there is a good political solution in Liberia, the humanitarian community will not be able to do its job properly...Humanitarian access cannot wait. We need to help people now." Over 70 percent of Liberia is inaccessible to relief agencies and in recent weeks the rebels have frequently launched raids on towns and camps for displaced people on the outskirts of Monrovia. According to UNHCR, fighting in 11 of Liberia's 15 counties has affected half the country's 2.7 million people. Liberia also hosts about 17,000 Sierra Leone refugees, at least 38,000 Ivorian refugees and nearly 44,000 returning Liberians who fled conflict in Côte d'Ivoire. These too have been endangered by the fighting. In March, three workers of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency were killed in Grand Gedeh county near the eastern border with Cote d'Ivoire. The civil war, which has engulfed Liberia intermittently since 1989, intensified last year when the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) seized parts of the north and east. This year, a new rebel group the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL)took control of large areas in the east. The government says it is hampered by UN sanctions which were imposed in 2001 in response to Liberia's support for rebels in neighbouring countries. The UN has restricted foreign travel by senior government officials and banned the sale or supply of weapons to both the government and rebels. It has also outlawed the export of rough diamonds whose origin cannot be certified. On 6 May, the UN extended the sanctions for a further year. It also declared a new ban on timber exports for 10 months from July, saying timber fueled conflict.