The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recommended the relocation of some 5,000 Sierra Leonean refugees registered in the Targbe area of lower Lofa County in Liberia.
The refugees fled to Targbe in recent weeks because of fighting in upper Lofa between Liberian government troops and insurgents.
UNHCR reported that its recommendation was made on the basis of a humanitarian mission conducted at the weekend in lower Lofa. "We are very concerned by the well-being of the refugees as well as the safety of our colleagues," Abou Moussa, UNHCR Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said.
The executive director of the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC), Alexander Kulue, told IRIN plans were underway to relocate the Sierra Leoneans from Lower Lofa to Camp Sinje - in Cape Mount County - which already hosts 8,000 refugees.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) has begun distributing emergency food aid to more than 25,000 Liberians displaced by the fighting in upper Lofa, according to a WFP news release.
See separate Item: irin-english-1508, titled 'UNHCR recommends relocation of Lofa refugees'
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