Poor security forces WFP to halt food distribution outside Monrovia

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday it had temporarily stopped distributing food to internally displaced people in rural Liberia because of continuing skirmishes in the interior. "Though conditions have stabilised in Monrovia over the past few days, reports of skirmishes between the government and rebels forces upcountry are forcing aid agencies to re-examine security arrangements and exercise extreme caution when traveling outside the capital," WFP said in a statement. The agency said food distribution would continue in and around the capital, Monrovia, where about 120,000 displaced Liberians live in more than eight camps and a force of more than 4,000 UN peacekeeping troops provides better security. But its decision means a temporary end to food distribution to 32,000 displaced people in Liberia's second city Buchanan, 120 km southeast of Monrovia, and to around 90,000 sheltering in camps near Salala and Totota, to the north of the capital. WFP, which relaunched its food distribution activities in Liberia after an 18 August peace agreement ended 14 years of civil war, said it would resume handouts in the interior once the skirmishes there stopped. The clashes have mainly involved government soldiers and fighters of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebel group in Bomi, Bong and Grand Cape Mount counties within a 150 km radius of Monrovia. Skirmishes have also occurred between government troops and fighters of a second rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), around Buchanan. The August peace agreement led to the setting up of a broad-based transitional government which will guide Liberia to fresh elections in October 2005. Businessman Gyude Bryant was sworn in as head of this new administration on Tuesday. He is currently negotiating the formation of a broad-based cabinet, which will be dominated by representatives of the three warring parties. WFP said it would shortly launch a food-for-work scheme that would support 51,000 people a month. This would help people get back into farming and would reward people for rehabilitating schools and clinics, repairing roads and working on water projects, it added. "It is vital for the Liberian people to move forward from dependency and play an active role in rebuilding their country and economy," Justin Bagirishya, WFP head in Liberia told a news conference on Wednesday in Monrovia. "Food-for-Work is an effective way for the WFP and its partners to help them to do," Bagirishya said. Meanwhile over 200 Liberian refugees have crossed back home from neighboring Sierra Leone where they had been living as refugees, Moses Okello, the head of UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Liberia told reporters in Monrovia on Wednesday. "More refugees have begun returning and we expect more Liberians to return home," Okello said. "We are meeting with asylum countries to organise the repatriation of Liberian refugees once the security situation in Liberia improves." According to UNHCR, 318,000 Liberian refugees are scattered across West Africa. More than 100,000 are in Guinea, while Sierra Leone hosts 62,000 Liberian refugees and Ghana shelters 42,000. There are also about 40,000 Liberian refugees in Cote d'Ivoire. In another development, the UN Children's agency (UNICEF) on Sunday brought into Liberia 3,200 school-in-box educational kits valued at US $1.3 million ahead of the launch of its Back-to-School education program on 3 November. This has been put back two weeks from the originally planned starting date of October 20. The Back-to-School programme aims to get 750,000 children, who were forced out of school by years of civil war, back in the classroom. UNICEF, the government and other relief agencies are repairing some of the schools, including many in Monrovia, which in recent months had been used as temporary shelters for displaced civilians. Some 20,000 teachers will be supported to teach in 3,700 schools. UNICEF said it was also raising awareness about immunisation as part of the Back-to-School program. Security in Liberia should improve as the UN peacekeeping force builds up over the next three or four months to its full strength of 15,000 troops. These will be backed up by a force of more than 1,000 UN police.