Blind abductees back in Monrovia

Sixty blind people who were abducted by rebels in the western town of Tubmanburg have been evacuated to the Liberian capital, Monrovia, by Liberia's first lady, Jewel Taylor, who also provided some food for them, a civil society official said on Monday. The chairman of the Liberian Christian Association of the Blind, Bean Kota, told reporters that the former abductees were living in desperate conditions and were in dire need of help. The group had been reported missing in May when the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) overran Tubmanburg, which is some 60 km west of Monrovia. They were found after government forces recaptured the town in late July. However, the fate of five nurses abducted by the LURD on 20 June during an attack on Sinje, 80 km northwest of Monrovia, remained unknown. Government and NGO sources said on Tuesday the rebels were yet to indicate when they would release the nurses. On Friday, LURD had reported in a statement that the nurses were "en route to [the northern town of] Voinjama and upon arrival will be evacuated to any place of their choice". NGO sources said that since then, the rebels had said nothing more about their fate. The government had reported taking Voinjama, which is on the border with Guinea, on Thursday but the rebels claimed on Friday that it was still in their hands. Government sources in Monrovia later said "the rebel remnants were being mopped up from the town after government forces forced them out," adding that whatever fighting continued over the weekend occurred during mopping-up operations.