EU condemns Liberian fighting

The European Union (EU) has said it is seriously concerned by a recent upsurge in fighting in Liberia. It said in a statement issued in Brussels on Friday that it supported calls for an immediate end to hostilities and for dialogue between the warring parties. The EU warned that the escalation in fighting would lead to greater humanitarian suffering and further instability in Liberia and the sub-region. It also condemned attempts by rebel forces to seize power and urged neighbouring countries not to support them. Liberia accuses Guinea of harbouring dissidents. The forces fighting in Liberia include Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), which has been trying to overthrow President Charles Taylor's government since 1999. The EU also called on all parties to ensure that humanitarian initiatives were protected and the population was not affected by military operations. Since the escalation in fighting earlier this year some 40,000 Liberians have fled to neighbouring countries, including Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea and Sierra Leone, UNHCR reported on Friday. A mission last week to the Sierra Leonean border areas of Gba and Dar-Es-Salaam found a total of 1,065 new Liberian refugees plus about 2,000 others who had arrived previously. The new arrivals were from Golakonneh and Porkpaa districts in western Liberia, where an estimated further 5,000 displaced people were thought to be heading for the border. Sierra Leone has so far relocated 15,000 refugees to five different sites inland while another 9,000 are thought to be in villages along the border. Convoys transporting refugees from border areas deeper into Sierra Leone resumed last week after a two-week suspension because of the 14 May general elections. Last week UNHCR registered a sharp increase in arrivals in Cote d'Ivoire, with 2,500 entering Tabou, Danane or Guiglo in the northwest of the country. They were mostly first-time refugees from the Gbarnga area in Bong County, the scene of recent clashes between LURD and government forces, and neighbouring Nimba County, which borders on Cote d'Ivoire. The refugees, mainly women and children, were reported to be exhausted by their long walk but their general state of health was not "too bad," the UN refugee agency added. As at 23 May, Cote d'Ivoire had received some 9,170 Liberians since the beginning of the year. More than a third of that number arrived during the month of May. Guinea, which also saw an increase in the number of Liberian refugees in May, has relocated nearly 10,000 this year out of a total of about 14,000 new arrivals. The World Food Programme, which has been providing assistance to tens of thousands of refugees, IDPs and school children in the region, warned last week of a shortfall of 38 percent - 39,870 mt of food - of its total requirements for the period January - December 2002. The shortfalls - in cereals and vegetable oil - will become critical in August and September, WFP said.