Civilians have become target in armed conflict, says Amnesty

Civilians have become the main targets in the conflict between government forces and armed opposition fighters in Liberia's northern Lofa county, the global human rights body, Amnesty International (AI), said in a statement on Tuesday.

AI, which expressed alarm at the development, said a recent visit to the West African country by researchers found that "those responsible for these abuses include the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) and national police, as well as armed opposition groups based in neighbouring Guinea. The Sierra Leone armed opposition Revolutionary United Front (RUF), fighting alongside Liberian security forces, had also been responsible for human rights abuses against Liberian civilians".

"The international community must take urgent and concrete steps to protect vulnerable populations from further human rights abuses. The armed conflict, which last week reportedly spread to Gbopulu county, has been going on since 1999. Amnesty International has documented continuing human rights abuses, including torture while in incommunicado detention, rape of women and girls, forced military recruitment of men and boys, and killings, going back to mid-2000," said the statement.

In recent weeks, it added, targeting civilians has become increasingly arbitrary, with all ethnic groups at risk. Previously, members of the Mandingo ethnic group were the primary target and victims of human rights abuses. Government sources, it further said, have since December 2001, reported large-scale killings and other attacks on civilians in Gbopulu County by "dissidents".

AI urged humanitarian agencies working in camps for displaced people, including UN agencies, and the Liberian Reconstruction, Reconciliation and Resettlement Commission to intensify strategies to protect the local people. It also urged all those involved in the conflict, the Liberian government and neighbouring countries to coordinate their efforts.