Liberia: Civil [OFDA-02: 30-Sep-96]
Liberia: Civil [OFDA-02: 30-Sep-96]
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID)
BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
LIBERIA - Complex Emergency
Fiscal Year (FY) 1996 - Situation Report #2 September 30, 1996
Note: The last situation report was dated June 5, 1996.
Overview
Liberia has been in the throes of civil war since December 24, 1989.
Peace-keeping forces from the Economic Community of West African States'
(ECOWAS) Cease-fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) arrived in August 1990 to
separate the warring factions and to provide security for the Monrovia
area. During the war at least eight major rebel groups have contended for
power in Liberia: 1) Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front for
Liberia (NPFL), 2) Alhaji Kromah's ethnic Mandingo-based United Liberation
Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO/Mandingo), 3) a Krahn-based ULIMO
splinter group led by Roosevelt Johnson (ULIMO/Krahn), 4) an NPFL splinter
group named the Central Revolutionary Council (CRC-NPFL) led by former
Charles Taylor supporter Tom Woewiyu, 5) another Krahn-based group called
the Liberia Peace Council (LPC), led by George Boley, 6) the Lofa Defense
Force (LDF) headed by Francois Massaquoi, 7) the Armed Forces of Liberia
(AFL) -- the Krahn-dominated army of the late President Samuel Doe, and 8)
the Congo Defense force, reportedly an off- shoot of the NPFL.
After six years of war, the leaders of the main warring factions signed a
thirteenth peace agreement on August 19, 1995, in Abuja, Nigeria, known as
the Abuja Peace Accord. On April 6, 1996, the cease-fire negotiated at
Abuja was broken when fighting erupted in Monrovia between the NPFL and
the ULIMO/Krahn. During April and May, the warring factions looted and
destroyed major sections of the capital city and nearly all expatriate
non- governmental organization (NGO) and United Nations (U.N.) staff were
evacuated. On August 17, an amended implementation schedule for the Abuja
Peace Accord, which calls for a cease-fire and sets out a new schedule for
disarmament, demobilization, and elections, was signed.
Numbers Affected
Out of a pre-war population of over 2.4 million, approximately 1.5 million
Liberians continue to require humanitarian assistance. This number
includes over 700,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), most of whom
are concentrated in Monrovia and Buchanan. The U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 400,000 Liberian refugees remain in
Guinea, 300,000 in Cote d'Ivoire, 20,000 in Sierra Leone, 16,000 in Ghana,
and 4,000 in Nigeria. Liberia also hosts approximately 120,000 Sierra
Leonean refugees. It is estimated that more than 150,000 people have died
as a result of the war. The Liberian Ministry of Health (MOH) estimates
that up to 3,000 people may have died in recent fighting in April and May.
U.S. GOVERNMENT (USG) HUMANITARIAN
ASSISTANCE FY 1996 (to date). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$76,713,497
Current Situation
Although Monrovia remains calm, skirmishes continued in June, July, and
August between the ULIMO/Mandingo and ULIMO/Krahn factions in Bomi and
Cape Mount counties and between the LPC and the NPFL in Grand Gedeh and
Sinoe counties in the southeast.
General Sani Abacha of Nigeria was elected ECOWAS chairman at an ECOWAS
Summit held on July 26-27. At an ECOWAS Committee of Nine on Liberia
Summit meeting, held in Abuja from August 13-17, ECOWAS heads of state and
Liberian faction leaders negotiated the amended schedule to the Abuja
Accord which provided for a cease-fire to be implemented by August 31,
disarmament and demobilization to be completed by January 31, 1997, and
elections to be held on May 30, 1997. Summit leaders also raised the
possibility of sanctions, such as exclusion from elections, and
establishment of a war crimes tribunal for those warlords who do not
comply with the Abuja Accord. In addition, Ruth Perry, a former senator,
was appointed to replace the current Council of State chair, Wilton
Sankawulo.
During April and May, the warring factions looted about 75% of Monrovia,
including private homes, shops, churches, schools, government buildings,
and the offices of U.N. agencies and NGOs. NGOs and U.N. agencies lost an
estimated 489 vehicles, valued at approximately $8.2 million. The Spriggs
Payne Airfield's airport terminal and control tower were burned but the
runway is intact and regular air service has resumed. Telecommunications
service, electricity, and water were all affected by the crisis. All
schools in Monrovia were suspended and have not yet re-opened.
Political/Military Situation
In April the U.S. Government pledged an additional $30 million in
conditional assistance to ECOMOG. The money will be used for
communications systems, training, command and control support, logistical
support, and essential needs of the troops such as footwear, clothing,
blankets, and tents. ECOMOG troop presence now extends from Monrovia as
far as the Po River in the west and to Kakata in the North. They also
control the port city of Buchanan. ECOMOG plans to deploy in Tubmanburg,
Cape Mount, Gbarnga, Suehen, and Lofa county.
At the ECOWAS Committee of Nine Summit, several governments expressed
willingness to send further troops to Liberia. The Government of Cote
d'Ivoire strengthened its border controls to impede possible arms flows
and prevent refugee-related violence. The U.N. Security Council extended
the U.N. Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) mandate until November 30,
1996.
Relief Efforts
Relief efforts in Liberia are handicapped by the recent looting and
destruction of humanitarian assets in Monrovia, harassment of relief
workers traveling outside the "safe-haven" of Monrovia, and lack of
cooperation by government officials and factional fighters. Fighting in
Bomi and Grand Cape Mount counties has made humanitarian access difficult
in these areas since the crisis began in April. The southeastern counties
also remain largely inaccessible, although some NGOs have gone as far as
the Cestos River, one-third of the way into the region.
The U. N. World Food Program (WFP) reported on July 19 that humanitarian
agencies negotiated with warring factions to remove 160 severely
malnourished persons from Suehn, Bomi county to Monrovia. Reportedly,
they were held against their will by the factions trying to draw relief
food to the area. On July 25, faction fighters denied permission to
evacuate severely malnourished children and their families to Monrovia.
On July 28, a high level U.N./NGO mission returned and convinced the local
chief of staff to allow 353 people to be voluntarily evacuated from Suehn.
In June, a group of 12 international NGOs meeting in Geneva announced a
joint-position limiting humanitarian assistance in Liberia to "targeted,
minimal, life-saving interventions". Following a second meeting in Geneva
on August 5-6, an expanded group of 20 NGOs voted to amend the policy
guidelines to include "minimal inputs for maximum impact". The change in
guidelines allowed for more flexibility at the field level in determining
the most efficient method to meet the immediate, emergency needs of
war-affected persons.
Displaced Persons and Refugees
According to the U.N. Department of Humanitarian Affairs (UNDHA), renewed
fighting displaced 46% of Monrovia's pre-April 6 population of 780,000.
Most IDPs congregated in temporary shelters in the U.S. Embassy's
residential Greystone Compound, in the Barclay Training Center (BTC), and
on Bushrod Island in warehouses, schools, and sites near ECOMOG
installations. Some have returned to their homes, some have moved to
established camps, while others have fled Monrovia or left Liberia
altogether.
>From April to mid-August, the IDP population at the Greystone compound
fluctuated between an estimated 7,000 - 20,000, depending on the security
situation. USAID/BHR/OFDA's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART),
with the remaining international NGO, U.N., and local NGO staff provided
food, water and sanitation improvements, and emergency medical care for
the displaced population at Greystone. IDPs have now left Greystone to
return to their homes or to move to established camps in Monrovia. An
estimated 20,000 displaced persons also sought shelter in the BTC during
the conflict.
UNDHA's Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Office in Liberia (UNHACO)
reports that over 7,500 IDPs fleeing fighting in the Tubmanburg area were
registered in the Po River area in the month of June. Fighting in the
area has prevented humanitarian access since the beginning of the crisis.
On September 8 and 9, a U.N./NGO mission assessed conditions in
Tubmanburg, where about 60% of an estimated 35,000 people are suffering
from severe malnutrition, including 4,000 children. Subsequent
assessments found that due to the presence of fighters, much of the
population returned to the bush after receiving food.
WFP estimates that about 2,000 Liberian civilians fleeing fighting in
Grand Gedeh county have crossed the border to Tabou, Cote d'Ivoire. UNHCR
reports that 4,000 - 6,000 Sierra Leoneans in Liberia and 2,000 Liberians
have fled to Zimmi, Sierra Leone to escape fighting in Grand Cape Mount
County. According to UNHCR, the 15,000 - 20,000 Sierra Leonean refugees
in Monrovia have expressed a desire to return to Sierra Leone. In May,
UNHCR reported some 5,000 new refugees in Cote d'Ivoire's Danane and
Guiglo regions who fled renewed NPFL-LPC conflict northeast of Gbarnga.
Several ships carrying Liberian refugees berthed in Sierra Leone and
Ghana. A Russian freighter, the Zolotitsa, carrying 434 passengers
including Liberians, Ghanaians, Nigerians, Guineans, and Sierra Leoneans,
returned to Monrovia on June 18 after three weeks at sea. The Zolotitsa
was denied permission to dock in Togo and Ghana, despite appeals by U.S.
Embassies and by UNHCR. The passengers were in good condition when they
returned to Monrovia, where WFP arranged for food and temporary shelter
until trucks were made available to those wishing to return to their
homes.
Food and Agriculture
WFP's program of expanded targeted food distribution to displaced shelters
in Monrovia continues, with the help of international and local NGOs.
WFP, with Save the Children Fund/UK (SCF/UK) and local NGOs, has also
provided food- for-work projects in Monrovia to collect garbage,
rehabilitate Spriggs Payne Airfield, construct emergency latrines, exhume
and re-bury bodies, and ensure continuous functioning of hospitals,
orphanages, the electricity corporation, telephone company, and the White
Plains water facility.
In areas outside Monrovia, WFP delivered food by ship and overland convoy
to Buchanan, Kakata, Totota, Phoebe Hospital, near Gbarnga, Voinjama, and
Suehn. In addition, WFP has provided food cross-border from Cote
d'Ivoire. On September 10, WFP began trucking in food for distribution to
severely malnourished inhabitants of Tubmanburg, who had been foraging for
leaves, wild yams, palm nuts and palm cabbage for the past seven months.
>From July 1-5, representatives of UNHCR, WFP, the European Union (E.U.),
NGOs, BHR's Office of Food for Peace (BHR/FFP), and the State Department's
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM) met in Abidjan,
Cote d'Ivoire to plan for 1997 food assistance to Liberian and Sierra
Leonean refugees and IDPs. The current regional food program was divided
into two sub-regional projects. The Liberia Protracted Relief Operation
(PRO) will assist IDPs in Liberia; Liberian refugees in Guinea, Cote
d'Ivoire, and Ghana; and Sierra Leone refugees in Liberia. The Sierra
Leone PRO will address the needs of Sierra Leonean IDPs, Liberian refugees
in Sierra Leone, and Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea.
WFP closed its warehouses from July 12-16 and suspended food distributions
due to crowds at the port which swarmed its warehouses and stole food.
The WFP country director held a series of meetings with ECOMOG, the
national port authority, and national police to improve security.
A nutritional survey of children under five years of age in Monrovia
conducted by Action Contre la Faim/France (ACF/F), MOH, UNICEF, United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), and the U.N. World Health
Organization (WHO) in mid-July found high levels of malnutrition in both
resident children and displaced children living in camps. Fifteen percent
of resident children experienced global malnutrition, while 4% experienced
severe malnutrition. Of the displaced children, almost 25% experienced
global malnutrition and 7% experienced severe malnutrition. ACF/F and
Medecins Sans Frontieres International (MSF/I) each set up four
therapeutic feeding centers in Monrovia in response to the malnutrition
findings.
Two other nutritional surveys conducted by ACF/F in August found high
levels of malnutrition in children under five years of age. In Buchanan,
47.6% experienced global malnutrition, while 5.6% experienced severe
malnutrition. A survey in Gbarnga, Bong County found global malnutrition
in 26.8% and severe malnutrition in 9.7% of children. ACF/F operates
therapeutic and supplementary feeding centers in Buchanan, Gbarnga, and
Kakata.
To combat the malnutrition problem, NGOs such as ACF/F, MSF/I, SCF/UK, and
CARE, have begun a 3-month plan of action which will focus on the rural
areas of upper Margibi, lower Bong, and Grand Bassa counties. The plan
includes a temporary increase in emergency food distributions to the
affected areas, increased monitoring by both ACF/F and MSF/I, expanded
therapeutic and supplementary feeding programs for malnourished children,
and crop assessments to address insufficient food production.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Lutheran World Relief (LWR), the E.U.,
WFP, BHR/OFDA, and BHR/FFP implemented an agricultural recovery program
originally planned before fighting began in April. The program was to
provide 25 kg of seeds and 25 kg of bulgar wheat per family to some 57,600
farm families. According to CRS, 610 MT of rice seed from Cote d'Ivoire,
and 797 MT from Guinea, was distributed in Nimba and Bong counties. Bong
Mines, Buchanan, and Montserrado county received 317 MT of seed from
Monrovia. Oxfam had already distributed 100 MT of seed to Sinoe county
before the April crisis.
Water and Sanitation
The E.U. delivered enough water treatment chemicals to the White Plains
water facility to last until February 1997. Piped water is now available
for ten hours a day excluding Sunday for those living on Bushrod Island,
which holds 25% of the population of Monrovia. The rest of the population
depend on dug wells, which are susceptible to pollution. UNICEF is
coordinating with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and NGOs
to disinfect over 5,000 wells.
In the absence of a functioning sewage system, most communities and all
shelter residents depend on in- ground latrines. At present, most shelter
latrines have been filled and residents resort to emergency latrines and
the surrounding bush, deteriorating already poor sanitary conditions. The
new UNICEF de-sludging truck was looted and two Liberia Water and Sewage
Company (LWSC) trucks were severely damaged and stripped of parts. One of
the trucks has been repaired. SCF/UK recovered its garbage trucks and is
working with the Monrovia City Corporation and the MOH to haul away
refuse. ACF/F is constructing and rehabilitating latrines in Monrovia,
de-sludging latrines in Buchanan, and cleaning and chlorinating wells in
Gbarnga and surrounding areas.
Health
In Monrovia, John F. Kennedy (JFK), Swede Relief, Redemption, and St.
Joseph's Catholic hospitals are functioning but the ELWA hospital is
closed. ELWA's international staff were evacuated and the hospital was
looted. The U.N. Development Program's Office for Project Services
(UNOPS) recently restored electricity to JFK Hospital for 21 hours daily.
Buchanan hospital is still functioning at a very low level, and is short
on supplies and staff. Tubmanburg hospital was completely looted, and
virtually no medical services are available.
Five cholera referral facilities in Monrovia reported a decline in
possible cholera cases beginning in mid- August. However, from April to
mid-August, referral facilities reported over 5,000 cases of severe
diarrhea in Monrovia. Samples were sent to Abidjan and Europe for cholera
testing. U.N. agencies, NGOs, and government officials established a
Cholera Control Committee, with sub-committees to deal with information
and education, body disposal, water and sanitation, among others.
Measles cases are also increasing, but not at an alarming rate. According
to the U.N., UNICEF and NGOs administered 18,500 vaccination doses to
5,000 children and 2,500 women from mid-April to July 1. An estimated
25,000 cases of measles have been treated since the crisis began. ACF/F
is operating mother and child health (MCH) centers and health centers for
children under five years of age in Buchanan and Gbarnga. MSF/I is
providing teams to work in the outpatient departments of Swede Relief and
Redemption hospitals in Monrovia.
Although MSF/I officially closed its program in Lofa county in April 1996,
volunteer community health workers continue to collect weekly medical data
which is analyzed by MSF/I staff in Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire. In July,
similar surveillance networks were established in Nimba, Bong, and upper
Margibi counties. Although mortality rates for children under five years
of age have improved in upper Lofa, data from Nimba, Bong, and upper
Margibi show a high mortality rate, attributed to malnutrition and
diarrhea. In upper Margibi, the mortality rate is 22.02% and in Bong
county, the rate is 7.9%.
USG Assistance
In FY 1996, the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense
contributed $40 million in logistical support to ECOMOG. BHR/FFP is
supporting WFP and CRS in food aid distributions throughout Liberia,
including cross-border distributions to Bong and Nimba counties. BHR/FFP
will also continue USG food aid shipments to the region in support of WFP
and CRS efforts to distribute assistance to the war-affected populations.
In FY 1996, USAID's Bureau for West African Affairs (AFR/WA) is assisting
war victims (including IDPs, child soldiers, widows, orphans, and disabled
ex-combatants) through trauma counseling, skills development, non-formal
education, and provision of agricultural kits. AFR/WA is also providing
education kits to schools.
In April and May, BHR/OFDA sent a DART, with expertise in public health,
water, sanitation, and logistics, to Monrovia to assist the U.S. Embassy
in the management of the humanitarian emergency and to address the needs
of IDPs at the U.S. Embassy Greystone compound. In FY 1996, BHR/OFDA has
provided funding to seven NGOs working in Liberia in the areas of
agricultural assistance, emergency water and sanitation programs, medical
assistance, nutritional feeding programs, food and non-food distributions,
and to UNDHA for support of UNHACO. BHR/OFDA supports the international
community's strategy of targeted interventions using "minimum inputs for
maximum impact" until the Liberian Interim Government and factions
unequivocally guarantee security, neutrality, and unimpeded access for
humanitarian assistance. BHR/OFDA exchanges information with the European
Union regarding funding activities to avoid duplication and ensure a
unified strategy.
USG Humanitarian Assistance in FY 1996 (to date)
BHR/OFDA
Grant to Africare for resettlement
agricultural assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$532,128
Grant to ACF/F for emergency water, sanitation,
and immunizations programs in Monrovia. . . . . . . . . . . . $725,275
Grant to CARE for targeted food distributions
and food security assessments. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . $159,400
Grant to CRS for food distribution and
agricultural rehabilitation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,500,000
Grant to LWR for procurement, transport and
distribution of farming tools and seeds. . . . .. . . . . . . $197,820
Grant amendment to MSF/H for emergency health,
nutritional, water and sanitation assistance. . . . . . . . .$500,000
Grant to MSF/B for MSF/I for emergency health,
water, and sanitation programs in Monrovia. . . . . . . . . . $109,420
Grant amendment to SCF/UK for emergency sanitation
programs in Monrovia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $146,213
Grant amendment to UNDHA for support
of UNHACO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $499,138
Travel for BHR/OFDA Assessments and DART . . . . . . . . . . $69,769
BHR/OFDA logistics costs and purchase of
humanitarian supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$164,004
BHR/OFDA Liberia Emergency Disaster Relief
Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $130,000
BHR/OFDA FY 1996 Assistance (to date) . . . . . . . . . . $5,733,167
BHR/FFP
Contribution of 28,920 MT of P.L. 480 emergency
Title II commodities to CRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15,927,400
Contribution of 98,890 MT of commodities to WFP
for the Liberia Regional Protracted Relief Operation . . .$50,917,900
BHR/FFP FY 1996 Assistance (to date) . . . . . .. . . . . .$66,845,300
* Commodities targeted to the region will be distributed by CRS and WFP.
BHR's Office of Transition Initiatives (BHR/OTI)
Technical assistance for area reintegration
and development centers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$76,025
BHR/OTI FY 1996 Assistance (to date) . . . . . . . . . . . . .$76,025
USAID/AFR/WA FY 1996 Assistance (to date) . . . . . . . . $2,250,000
State/PRM FY 1996 Assistance (to date) . . . . . . . . . . $1,809,005
In FY 1996, State/PRM contributed on an unearmarked basis to the following
programs: $32.9 million to UNHCR's 1996 General Appeal Program for
Africa, $41.7 million to ICRC's 1996 Emergency Appeal for Africa, and $13
million to IFRC's 1996 Emergency Appeal for Africa. These figures are not
included in total USG assistance for Liberia.
USG FY 1996 Humanitarian Assistance (to date). . . . . . . $76,713,497
USG Humanitarian Assistance in FY 1995:
BHR/OFDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,899,252
BHR/FFP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . $48,867,800
State/PRM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $497,938
TOTAL FY 1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$57,264,990
Historical Summary of USG Humanitarian Assistance
FY 1990. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $36,720,951
FY 1991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $88,613,780
FY 1992. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $66,748,285
FY 1993. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $57,340,987
FY 1994. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $72,793,467
FY 1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $57,264,990
FY 1996 (to date). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $76,713,497
TOTAL USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
FY 1990 - 1996 (to date). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $456,194,957
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