Corpses found in water wells in Buchanan

Corpses of fighters killed in recent Liberian fighting have been found in water wells in the rebel-held southeastern port city of Buchanan, 120 km from the capital, Monrovia, posing a public health threat, the World Health Organization reported. WHO said on Friday that the Liberian National Red Cross (LNRC) had found corpses in at least four of the town's wells. More bodies were found buried directly above wells that provide drinking water for thousands of people. Due to the collapse of water delivery systems during 14 years of civil war, a large number of Liberians depend on wells for water, many of which are not protected. Only 32 percent of the war-ravaged country's nearly three million people have access to clean drinking water, WHO-Liberia said. Buchanan, which is controlled by the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), hosts 32,000 internally displaced people most of whom fled months of fighting in other counties between Liberian government troops loyal to former President Charles Taylor and rebels, to seek refuge in the city. The city however remains difficult to access, WHO said. There were 19 roadblocks last week and the streets in the city were full of armed militia who enforced a 16:00 GMT to 07:00 GMT curfew. Plans by UN agencies and international organisations to deliver food to the port city, which lies in Grand Bassa county, were put off on Saturday to await the proposed deployment of West African peacekeepers (ECOMIL) within a week. "At nightfall, harassment and gunfire is common and houses are broken into. The population fears the armed men and reports being harassed...[these] incidents will only delay access of the humanitarian community and the recovery of the public health system." WHO said in its health update. It added that the LNRC had recommended that the bodies in the water wells be exhumed and buried properly and was preparing to carry out a mass chlorination of the wells in the city. Noting that children in the streets of Buchanan showed early, obvious signs of malnourishment. Out of three health facilities in town, the government hospital was looted while the Oriental Timber Company hospital was not functioning. The third is managed by Catholic missionaries but faces power shortages. There was a significant shortage of pharmaceuticals. WHO also reported that in Monrovia, the health centre at the Samuel Doe stadium, where 50,000 internally displaced people live, was completely overwhelmed with 400 patients visiting the centre each day to see the six nurses.