Monrovia | Thursday
FEAR of rebel attack has sent some 7 000 people in northern Liberian scattering for cover in already-crowded shelters near the city of Gbarnga, an official said on Wednesday.
Programme Officer of the Liberia Refugee Agency (LRRRC), James Youquoi, said sounds of shooting around the St. Paul River, which separates the northern Lofa and Bong counties, had sparked a mass exodus of residents towards Gbarnga.
“Many of them are sheltering in Weinsue (about eight kilometres from Gbarnga), while thousands of others are trekking to the CARI displaced camps on the outskirts of Gbarnga,” Youquoi said.
The LRRRC officer added that “a few of them” had already been accommodated in three displaced camps near Gbarnga.
According to LRRRC records, the number of people currently displaced by fighting in Lofa stands at more 35 000, with another 60 000 displaced from clashes in Gbarpolu and Bomi counties.
Additionally, some 11 000 people have been sent scurrying from Grand Cape Mount County, which borders Sierra Leone in the northwest bringing the total displaced to more than 100 000.
Liberian rebels, who have bases in Guinea, have been leading an insurgency in northern Liberia and this year extended their fight to Monrovia’s doorstep, prompting President Charles Taylor to declare a state of emergency on February 8.
Residents have said an attack by rebels on the town of Gbalatuah, near the St. Paul River, last week left a number of soldiers and civilians dead, but defence officials have declined to comment. – AFP