Dissidents occupy five areas, deputy minister says

Armed dissidents have occupied five localities in north-western Liberia, Deputy Information Minister Milton Teahjay told IRIN on Thursday. Teahjay said a state of emergency had been declared in the five localities - Monokoma, Kolahun, Sardhu, Konjo and Benduman - to give the security forces "an opportunity to deal with the situation before it spreads to neighbouring towns". News organisations reported that the government troops had gone on the offensive after receiving reinforcements. The BBC reported Liberia's Foreign Minister, Monie Captan, as saying that the rebels appeared to be from ULIMO, a faction which opposed Taylor during the civil war. Teahjay said the Liberian government, which has closed the border with Guinea and "put in place the necessary security apron to hold off the assailants", hoped to have the situation cleared up in the next few days. See separate item titled 'Dissidents occupy five areas, deputy minister says' Hostages unharmed, relief agencies say Radio contact has been made with hostages abducted on Wednesday by armed men in Lofa county and they are all unharmed and well, Amanda Harvey, head of mission for Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) in Liberia told IRIN on Thursday. "We have no other details but are hoping for a breakthrough tomorrow," she said. The six European aid workers, three from the London-based Medical Emergency Relief International (MERLIN), two from MSF and one from the New York-based International Rescue Committee (IRC), were abducted in Kolahun, some 250 km north of Monrovia by an unidentified group. "They have since been moved but we do not know their exact whereabouts," Harvey said. They include midwife Sara Nam (30), logistician David Heed (26) and doctor Mike Roe (33) - British aid workers from MERLIN - Trond Heldaas, a 53-year-old Norwegian, and 34-year-old Italian Irene Martino both from MSF. The sixth person is a British man working with IRC. See separate item titled 'Armed men kidnap aid workers' Plane crash under investigation Meanwhile, Teahjay also told IRIN that a full investigation into the plane crash which killed police director Joe Tate and six others was underway. President Charles Taylor has instructed the Ministry of Transport to ask the company that manufactured the plane to go to Liberia to offer technical advice and assistance to try and find out if there was a fault with the plane that may have contributed to the crash, Teahjay said. There will also be a full investigation to see whether the "airport facilities" were a contributory factor, he said. The eight-seater Cessna aircraft crashed on Tuesday night near the Roberts International Airport some 40 km east of Monrovia. The group had been returning from Maryland County in the southeast of the country after investigating reports of ritualistic killings, news organisations said. The other passengers were: Chief of Traffic Walter Pelham, Assistant Director for Special Services Colonel Amie Wreh, Chief of Task Force Cecelia Lewis, a body guard, a church pastor who had asked for a ride to Monrovia and the pilot. All the bodies have now been recovered, Teahjay said. Tate played a key role in Liberian politics for many years, first as one of Taylor's top commanders during the country's seven-year civil war and then as a leading member of his administration.