Fighting escalates 15,000 displaced

Escalating fighting between Liberian government forces and rebels has displaced at least 15,000 people from Gbarnga, 150 km north of the Liberia's capital, Monrovia, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Monday. Gbarnga, the provincial capital of Bong County, was now empty and heavy artillery and shelling could be heard nearby. Staff of several international organizations had been evacuated. The rebels, who belong to the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) group, were also reported to have approached Wenshu, 12 km from Gbarnga. Kley Junction, about 40 km from Monrovia, had also come under attack and fighting had intensified in parts of the western county of Bomi. The LURD rebels overran the strategic St. Paul River bridge, 200 km northeast of Monrovia, on the border between Bong and Lofa Counties, and captured nearby Gbalatuah and Bellefanai towns, sources told IRIN. The bridge is on the highway to Cote d'Ivoire. The TV Tower camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), which hosted about 2,000 people had also emptied. Over the weekend, the EU sent five trucks to the area to help transport the most vulnerable people. OCHA and the Liberian government also dispatched an assesment team to Bong, which already hosted 60,000 IDPs. Tension rose in Monrovia following fears of a possible attack on the capital by the rebels on Monday, prompting the security forces to carry out “cordon-and-search” operations in the town.