Fighting causes new displacement

An estimated 2,000 newly displaced people arrived in TV Tower, CARI I and II displacement camps in Phebe and Gbarnga, towards the middle of last week, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported at the weekend. These camps are located in Bong County, north-central Liberia, which borders Guinea to the north. There were also reports that armed forces from the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) had made gains in military engagements around Zorzor, near the border with Guinea. OCHA also cited reports that LURD rebels had taken Solayea and Ganglor, and were approaching Bellefanai, some 40 km from Gbarnga (which is some 150 km from the capital, Monrovia). Staff from the UN agency visited Gbarnga and Ganta (also in Bong County) on Tuesday and Wednesday last week, and reported residents of Gbarnga as saying they had heard heavy artillery fire on the night of 16 September. Residents quoted government security forces in Gbarnga as saying the town was "once again under threat". The security situation in Bong County "remains fragile", OCHA said, adding that Gbarnga town "is once again tense". Fighting between Liberian government troops and LURD rebels was intense in the northern towns of Voinjama and Zorzor, according to reports received by OCHA. On 13 September, the Liberian army reported that it had pushed back LURD rebels from the town of Bopolu in Gbarpolu. The army has recently intensified its efforts to retake control of Zorzor from LURD rebel forces. On 14 September, Liberian President Charles Taylor lifted a state of emergency he had imposed in February, as well as restrictions on political party meetings, saying there had been positive developments in the war against rebels in the north. LURD rebels have been fighting to oust Taylor's government since 1998.