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Fleeing refugees arrive in Liberia

    ABIDJAN

    Small numbers of exhausted refugees are arriving in Vahun, northern Liberia, fleeing rebel attacks in the Kenema area of Sierra Leone, a UNHCR spoksman told a press briefing yesterday (Tuesday). Ten new arrivals this week said they had been walking for four days and nights through the bush after escaping a rebel attack on the town of Segbewema. The town was previously under the control of the Kamajor traditional warriors who support President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.

    UNHCR cited the refugees as saying hundreds more people remained scattered in the forest. Over 1,000 people in the nearby town of Bomalu, 15 km from the Liberian border, are reportedly trying to break away from rebel control and flee. “This is just a little trickle, but we’re probably seeing the tip of an iceberg of displacement”, spokesman Kris Janowski said.

    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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