Persistent tension that followed clashes this week between government troops and armed opposition fighters in northern Liberia's Lofa County forced 3,446 people - including over 3,000 Sierra Leonean refugees - to move to Jenemana in Gbarpolu County, just south of Lofa, UNHCR said in a report on Friday. The displaced people were moving towards the capital, Monrovia, it added.
Across the border in eastern Sierra Leone, brawls broke out suddenly on Thursday between opposition groups in Koidu Town, leading to the death of five civilians. The fights, in which the belligerents used rocks, also left 38 injured. They were sparked by disagreement over a date set by paramount chiefs to stop illegal diamond mining in the town. UNAMSIL later separated the fighters.
Overall, UNHCR said 5,423 people in Sierra Leone have been relocated to their home areas in Kambia, north of the capital, Freetown. Some 5,171 travelled by land while 352 were returned by sea. Another 383 remain to be repatriated.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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