Fleeing Liberians fear ethnic reprisals, UN says

Thousands of civilians have fled from Lofa County in northern Liberia into neighbouring Guinea, fearing ethnic reprisals against them by rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), the United Nations reported on Tuesday. The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said at least 4,500 had fled from Lofa into southeastern Guinea over the last 10 days. Most of the new arrivals reaching the small Guinean border town of Fassankony were from the Loma ethnic group, the UNHCR said. They had apparently fled after Liberian government forces pulled out and LURD fighters, who are predominately from the Mandingo tribe, took full control of the area. "The influx appears to be continuing, comprising mostly children, women and the elderly who are reported to be in dire need of food and health care," UNHCR said. "The fact that Liberians continue to flee is very worrying. It is obvious that many areas in Liberia are still very insecure and fighting is continuing, making it all the more urgent that peacekeepers be deployed throughout the country as soon as possible," it added. UNHCR said that in Macenta, another Guinean border town, LURD fighters were harassing Liberian refugees and local people alike. Diplomats say the Guinean government has long supported LURD and tolerated the presence of LURD fighters on its territory. A West African peacekeeping force (known as ECOMIL) of 3,500 men was sent to Liberia last month, but has only deployed around the capital, Monrovia. It is due to be replaced on October 1 by a much stronger United Nations peacekeeping mission (UNMIL), which will eventually have 15,000 troops and 1,115 police on the ground. UNHCR said some of the refugees who arrived in the Guinean border towns of Yomou and Lola, southeast of Fassankony, had fled renewed fighting between rebels and government forces in Liberia's Bong and Nimba counties. LURD and another rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) have continued to clash with government fighters in the interior of the country, in violation of a peace agreement signed on 18 August. This calls for a broad-based transitional government led by businessman Gyude Bryant to take power on 14 October and organise elections in two years' time. Fourteen years of near constant civil war have sent an estimated 310,000 Liberians fleeing for safety to neighbouring countries. A further 500,000 have been internally displaced within Liberia itself. Most have sort refuge in the capital Monrovia. There are at least 116,000 Liberian refugees in southern Guinea, of whom 67,000 live in four camps. On Monday, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that both of Liberia's rebel movements were subjecting civilians to forced labour. It also cited reports that some civilians near the LURD-held town of Gbarnga, 150 km north of Monrovia, had died of starvation.