Insecurity at the main port in the capital Freetown continues to prevent humanitarian agencies from providing urgently-needed food aid to tens of thousands of people trapped by fighting in the city, WFP said today (Thursday). In a press release received by IRIN, WFP said gunfire could still be heard day and night in the port area of eastern Freetown. The West African intervention force ECOMOG said yesterday it had gained control of the port after heavy fighting with Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels, according to news agencies. The WFP statement said the port area had been badly damaged and warehouses burned down. The security situation has not allowed aid workers to check on aid agency warehouses. Meanwhile, a WFP spokesman told IRIN today that a ship carrying about 1,800 MT of rice donated by Italy for distribution to Freetown’s war-affected population had reached the Guinean capital Conakry.
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