20,000 displaced by further fighting

At least 20,000 people in Liberia were on Tuesday displaced in Bong Mine, a town 80 km north of the capital Monrovia, by fighting between rebels and government troops, the UNHCR reported on Thursday. "Tuesday's battles signalled the expansion of the rebel attacks from Lofa and Gbarpolu in the north to Bong County in the northeast. Rumours of attacks on the capital continue to be rife. Monrovia itself was calm, despite a visible increase in security and numerous night time roadblocks," the UN agency said. Most of the displaced from Bong Mine sought refuge in Kakata, some 70 km northeast of Monrovia. Humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organisations, the UN agency said, on Thursday were preparing to respond to a fresh emergency in Kakata. The Liberian government's refugee agency, was trying to determine the number of people displaced by the upsurge in fighting but the UN estimated the number at 50,000 to 60,000, it added. Some Liberians, it added, had left the country for Cote d`Ivoire and Ghana. The UNHCR office in Cote d`Ivoire reported on Thursday, the entry of 322 Liberians since 11 February, including 147 who arrived on Wednesday. "The fighting marked the second time this month that rebels belonging to Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy have succeeded in bringing the fighting to the doors of the capital," the agency said. A rebel attack on Klay Junction, 35 km north of Monrovia on 7 February, sent tens of thousands of people fleeing, including some 6,000 who sought shelter in refugee camps established for Sierra Leoneans. Meanwhile, UNHCR on Wednesday repatriated 328 Sierra Leonean refugees to their country, bringing to 1,132 the total number transported home since February 12. About 65,000 Sierra Leonean refugees who fled a vicious 10-year civil war in their country are currently in Liberia, including 40,000 living in six camps. Among these are 7,000 new refugees who were previously living in Lofa and Gbarpolu Counties but who have moved to the camps because of the fighting, the UN agency reported.