More than 1,500 IDPs return to the southeast

More than 1,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had fled to Monrovia from southeastern Liberia during a civil war in the 1990s were taken back to the area between 27 February and 28 March, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported on Thursday. The operation was organised by the ICRC in cooperation with the Liberian Red Cross and the Liberian Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Committee, ICRC said. The ICRC had registered some 2,700 IDPs, but nearly 1,200 decided to remain in the capital. The remainder, mainly women and children, were transported by boat to the ports of Greenville and Buchanan, from where most were taken by truck to their home areas, ICRC reported. It said the returnees were given tarpaulin and soap by the ICRC and dry food rations by the World Food Programme.