Liberia: OCHA Daily Situation Update No. 14

I. Military/Political Developments
On Sunday, 6th July, the Nigerian president visited Liberia to discuss the temporary asylum offer to president Charles Taylor. Speaking after their meeting at the Roberts International Airport, President Taylor confirmed acceptance of Nigeria's offer of asylum and reiterated that he was ready to relinquish power but only after the arrival of peacekeeping troops. He said his earlier departure would cause further breakdown in law and order.

Meanwhile a United States military assessment team arrived in Liberia on Monday 7th July 2003 to lay the groundwork for a possible American military deployment. The team numbering about 35 people includes military civil affairs experts familiar with medical and engineering matters and is expected to operate out of the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia. A priority for such an effort would be to set conditions for international aid workers to return. On Tuesday, 8th July, the American military team encountered chaotic street scenes as thousands of residents happily mobbed the convoy and chanted slogans denouncing President Taylor. However, Liberian troops loyal to President Charles Taylor prevented the team from visiting the VOA refugee camp on the outskirts of Monrovia allegedly due to lack of communication with the authorities. Defence Minister Daniel Chea stated that while the Americans delegation was welcome to go wherever they wanted, they had to discuss their plans with him first as a matter of protocol. After discussions with the defence minister the team was allowed to visit various IDP sites around Monrovia. The team visited Redemption Hospital, D.Tueh high school, Wilson corner and the VOA camps.

In a related development, former U.S. president, Jimmy Carter issued a statement last Thursday supporting President Bush's for his determination to help the people of Liberia find the path to peace. The former president opined that American leadership was now critical to create the security on which long-term stability for Liberia and the region could be built. The former US president also echoed calls for Taylor to leave the country to permit the ceasefire to prevail and democratic elections to be held.

In Liberia, Hundreds of demonstrators matched through the streets of Monrovia on Thursday and Friday calling on President Taylor to step down. Several of them carried placards, one of which read, "for the sake of peace, Taylor must go." They also chanted such slogans as "we want Bush, Taylor must go!" The demonstration was organized to counter a planned demonstration that was being organized by stalwarts of Taylor's ruling party, the NPP to call on the US and other powers to allow the Liberian President to complete his tenure of office. Amongst those who had planned the pro Taylor demonstration were Representative Sando Johnson, The Marketing Superintendent, Marie Washington and Fredrick Baye of PACARD, a pro government youth group. Buses were sent to various communities including IDP camps by the organizers of the pro government demonstration to assemble people at the sport stadium in central Monrovia, where the demonstration was expected to begin, but most of them returned empty.

In Accra, ceasefire negotiations resumed on Friday, 4th July with the chief mediator former Nigerian Head of state, General Abubakar Abdulsalami meeting with LURD to obtain an update on their political plan submitted sometime back. Later, he met MODEL and on Saturday he met representatives from Government, Civil Society institutions and political parties.

The Joint Verification Team (JVT) is still in Freetown waiting for clearance from the United Nations Headquarters. It is not known when the clearance will be obtained. The JVT was supposed to move in quickly to map out positions of the various warring parties to enable deployment of monitors.

II. Security Situation

Towards the end of last week, there were reports of resurgence of hostilities involving LURD and government forces between Tubmanburg and Klay Junction, some 47 kilometers northwest of Monrovia. Sources at the John F. Kennedy Hospital say a number of wounded soldiers were brought in the hospital on 3 July from the fighting in that area. Prior to the reported ceasefire violations, there were allegations of government troop movements beyond Po River towards Klay. At the same time government announced salary payments to soldiers but indicated that disbursement would take place at the Combat Camp, some 24 kilometres northwest of Monrovia. In Monrovia, this was construed as a ploy by government to mobilise enough men for a fresh offensive against LURD forces.

Armed robberies at night are widespread. A number of bodies have been discovered in Logan Town and Duala and there are indications that these were armed robbers or young men believed to be remnant of LURD fighters who were trapped after their withdrawal. Government is calling on residents to report suspected LURD fighters or face severe punitive measure. There have also been reports of armed scuffles over looted goods in Monrovia suburbs leading to deaths in some cases.

Meanwhile police in Monrovia say they have begun retrieving looted items and have in their possession some 25 vehicles, belonging to government, humanitarian agencies, businesses and private individuals. The police say those who vehicles were looted should report to the police headquarters with the necessary documents to establish ownership of their vehicles. The disclosure comes in the wake of outcries by humanitarian agencies regarding the commandeering of vehicles by armed men during the recent two attacks on Monrovia. Over 30 vehicles were looted from aid agencies during the last fighting in Monrovia.

A committee from the humanitarian community has since begun engaging relevant security authorities in Monrovia to try to recover the vehicles, and the police and defence authorities promised that everything was being done to retrieve the vehicles and return them to their owners.

The Government directive requiring soldiers to leave the streets and report to their command posts or face the highest penalties appears to be yielding results as relative calm has return to central Monrovia. The city suburbs however remain tense and deserted, as residents are still apprehensive about returning to their pre-crisis homes. Some of the residents of the city suburbs that made some initiatives to return found their homes vandalised and properties looted.

A few Lebanese and local merchants have started opening their stores. Public transportation has resumed. Commercial vehicles shuttle between Monrovia and the eastern suburbs of Sinkor and Paynsville up to about 8:00 p.m. while on the route to Duala, movement of commercial vehicles ceases at about 5:00 p.m.

III. Humanitarian Situation

IDPs continue to live in more than eighty settlements around the city where access to clean water, basic sanitary facilities, food and health care remains rudimentary.

A ceasefire has held around Monrovia for almost one week, but aid workers are still struggling to help those with cholera and gunshot wounds.

The Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company (LPRC) has re-opened and except for Mobil, all oil companies (Petrol-1, GAPCO, Aminata) have resumed normal operations. Many gas stations are now open and fuel prices are gradually dropping.

Nevertheless, transport costs remain high, twice the pre-crisis period.

Protection

The inter-agency protection group has re-deployed protection monitors that were originally assigned to Montserrado camps to the SKD sports complex, New Port street, and other IDP settlements around Monrovia to investigate, document and report on protection issues in the new IDP settlements. Reports from the protection monitors indicate continuing protection cases in the camps including gender-based violence, harassment of civilians by armed men and child separation. ICRC and SCUK continue to be engaged in child tracing and family reunification.

Food

Currently WFP has a total of 12,512MT of assorted commodities in Liberia. However, due to the fluid situation, coupled with the high number of IDP settlements against the backdrop of a drastic reduction in the number of humanitarian workers, it has not been possible to conduct a comprehensive registration exercise to obtain a reliable beneficiary caseload figure.

The WFP-Liberia country office is reviewing its strategy with a view to obtaining a realistic beneficiary caseload that could be assisted based on in-country stock levels, WFP capacity and NGO implementing partner capacity.

In the interim, WFP, its implementing partners and LRRRC have begun a-night-time verification of the population in irregular shelters to obtain a planning figure that could be used for the next food distribution. Given that most of the city residents have been displaced but spend the nights with relatives and only come to the camps during day, potential beneficiary figures might be much higher than the figure obtained from the night head count.

Food insecurity among the IDPs continues to be critical. Due to insecurity, IDPs cannot venture into the villages to look for cassava, bush yams or any other food commodities. Lack of any meaningful coping mechanisms has compelled IDPs to employ distressful strategies to obtain food. The IDPs have had to beg and/or sell their valuable possessions at a loss to buy food commodities. There are reports of increasing malnutrition among under-fives both in the camps and host communities.

MSF is planning a rapid nutritional screening to obtain an idea of the nutritional status of the IDP population in the Monrovia IDP shelters.

Health

Challenges in the health sector remain; cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases, measles and malaria are on the increase. Contaminated water in and around the city is putting thousands more at risk of disease. Referral hospitals need water for patients' bathing, cleaning bed sheets and other hospital tasks. Food is needed for both patients and staff. Referral hospitals continue to be overwhelmed with the rise in number of in-patients. In an effort to respond to the ever-increasing number of referral cases, MSF (France) has established a referral clinic around the Coconut plantation area in Monrovia.

In response to the health crisis in the war-torn Liberia, last Friday, Dr. Harlem Brundtland, WHO Director General called for supplies and funds to urgently provide crucial health care to the people of Liberia. Meanwhile, WHO in collaboration with the Ministry of Health intend to carry out mass chlorination of water wells around Monrovia and has provided 650 kilograms of chlorine to the Ministry of Health and NGOs (MSF - Belgium, MERLIN and SOS). However, WHO and the Ministry of Health do not have adequate logistical capacity to facilitate movement of personnel during the chlorination exercise.

WHO has also provided basic health kits to support health needs of 7,000 people for a period of three months in addition to 4,000 sachets of re-hydration salts and 156 litres of ringer lactate to treat cholera. Nevertheless, chlorine supplies are running low and without new stocks, contaminated water will continue to cause disease.

WATSAN

EU continues to supply water with four trucks directly to water balloons or through partner agencies to several campsites and its water stations in several communities in Monrovia and its suburbs. ICRC, MSF-F, OXFAM, Merlin and ACF are also trucking water to several campsites in and around Monrovia. The WATSAN sector NGOs have set up a monitoring team to ensure amongst other things, quality control, the determination of needs and field coordination and collaboration. The agencies have also identified thirteen centres with critical WATSAN needs and have begun developing a matrix of how agencies can coordinate activities at those sites

Meanwhile, OXFAM-GB (Liberia) is currently constructing latrines and bathhouses at the 'Masonic Temple' and the International School to respond to the WATSAN requirements of IDPs currently staying the Mamba Point area. OXFAM hygiene-promotion teams have started hygiene promotion campaigns in IDP settlements around Monrovia. The organisation uses visual aids to show IDPs basic hygiene principles such as proper disposal of human waste, cleaning of latrines and food storage. IDPs have been provided with soap and buckets for cleaning their bathhouses and toilets.

Despite efforts of humanitarian actors, provision of water to IDPs remains extremely limited and at some camps, IDPs are obliged to buy water at about LD10.00 for a-five-gallon container.

Refugees

A first group of 304 Sierra Leonean refugees to be repatriated from Liberia in a UNHCR -organised sea evacuation operation left Monrovia on Friday afternoon aboard MV Overbeck bound for Freetown. The UNHCR vessel arrived in Monrovia at dawn Friday, 4th July and with the help of Liberia authorities, boarding of the ship began before 11.00 a.m. The first group of evacuees had been camped at the UNHCR compound for the last three weeks. UNHCR efforts to care for refugees had been hampered by looting and insecurity in Liberia. During the crisis, UNHCR lost their trucks and other items in its warehouses including blankets, mattresses, kitchenware, food, medical supplies, generators and other items for up to 90,000 people. Consequent to the looting of their vehicles, UNHCR borrowed two trucks from the European Union to support transportation of refugees to the port. If the ceasefire holds, UNHCR intends to continue the repatriation exercise until all Sierra Leonean refugees who wish to return have been assisted.

Issues that need to be addressed

• There is need for logistical support to WHO and the ministry of health to facilitate movement of personnel during the proposed mass chlorination exercise.
  
  
• Not all agencies have submitted inventories of items lost during the last crisis. The committee met with officers of the ministries of justice, defence and police. The committee was informed that the humanitarian community should submit the final list of missing items with a covering letter from the LRRRC, which would then form the basis of the discussion with the ministers.
  
  
• Water supply & sanitation remains a major gap and aid agencies are requested to support the ongoing efforts in order to curb the spread of diarrhoea and cholera.

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Ali Farah Muktar, Head of OCHA Liberia (currently in Abidjan)
Telephone Numbers: + 225-2240-5174/75 (Office), + 225-07-443-392 (Cellular)
E-mail: farah.muktar@undp.org/ muktarfarah@yahoo.com