WFP urges support for IDPs

Increased tension and fighting in northern Liberia have caused a significant influx of refugees into Sierra Leone while in Liberia itself, the security situation remained calm except in the northern and northwestern counties of Lofa and Gbarpolu, the World Food Programme said on Friday. The UN agency, in its 18 January 2002 emergency report, said the situation of Liberian IDPs from Bopolu and Jennemana, Gbarpolu County, remained of urgent concern. It called on the government to relocate the IDPs to safer areas. WFP said it assisted 38,300 Sierra Leonean refugees in Montserrado and Grand Cape Mount counties, but expected the case load to increase. Currently 26,000 IDPs are estimated to be in Bong County, central Liberia. In Sierra Leone WFP said demobilisation of ex-combatants would continue until the end of January, adding that the Security Council reviewed the Secretary General's Report and emphasised the need to focus on the reintegration of ex-combatants. "Low-cost, labor-intensive programmes specifically targeted at ex-combatants have been implemented particularly in volatile areas. WFP projects were identified as the major contributor to this pressing concern", it reported.