A British aid flight carrying 30 tonnes of emergency supplies for Liberia has landed near the war-ravaged capital Monrovia, as the first peacekeepers made their way to the west African country.
”We’re trying to get the supplies as quickly as possible into the 70 centres where the civilians are seeking shelter to minimise the risk of looting,” a Save the Children spokesperson said.
The chartered DC-8 flight, the first mission of its kind to Liberia by a British charity, arrived at 0730 GMT and the entire cargo was being moved to Monrovia by truck.
”On day one we are hoping to reach some 900 children who we have identified as being particularly vulnerable,” said another Save the Children spokesperson, Brendan Paddy.
The shipment arrived as the first Nigerian peacekeeping troops — the vanguard of a 3 250-strong West African force — landed in Liberia from neighbouring Sierra Leone.
Fighting has displaced more than 200 000 people and flooded the capital with refugees, including at least 40 000 people who are camping in Monrovia’s main sports stadium because they have nowhere else to go.
Included in Monday’s airlift were cholera and dehydration treatment kits, baby clothes, heavy plastic sheeting for emergency shelters, food and water purification tablets. Save the Children, one of Britain’s biggest humanitarian organisations, has
60 Liberian staff in the country that are being supported by a small team of emergency experts. – Sapa-AFP