Security deteriorates in Freetown, improves elsewhere

Security has deteriorated in Freetown during the past week but has continued to improve elsewhere in Sierra Leone, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports.

Five security incidents of varying significance occurred in the capital in the past few days, OCHA quotes UNOMSIL as saying. These include attempts at armed robbery and the harassment of international and local staff of UN agencies and NGOs by unidentified youths, some of whom have been described as ex-combatants.

The situation continues to improve in other parts of the country, OCHA says. In the east, residents of previously insecure areas such as Segbwema, Tongo Fields and Daru have now resumed commercial activities.

People are now moving east of Kenema with goods ranging from food items to petroleum products for sale in rebel-held areas. Armed combatants in these areas seem willing to put down their weapons, OCHA reports.

Security forces in the Daru area are reportedly cooperating with an interagency humanitarian mission which left for the region on 29 September. The mission’s main objectives are to assess the food situation, the number of refugee returnees, road conditions and the storage infrastructure for humanitarian aid.