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A humanitarian catastrophe is developing in eastern and southern Sierra Leone due the deteriorating situation in and around Kenema, UN and NGO sources told IRIN today (Friday).
As more details emerged of rebel attacks on the town this week, heightened security consciousness in nearby Bo, the country’s second city, has limited or completely prevented new influxes of displaced people there. Consequently, some 200,000 people fleeing Kenema are stuck between the two towns, which are 60 km apart.
The NGO, MERLIN, which has been operating in Kenema for three years, confirmed that a “huge humanitarian crisis” is in the making. The organisation told IRIN that four lactating mothers and their children were killed when rebels launched their attack early Tuesday on the hospital side of the town. The attack came without warning and traumatised the entire population.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
