Sierra Leone - ICRC-03: 05.Dec.96

ICRC
Sierra Leone
Activities Report 03
05 December 1996



Sierra Leone's President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and Revolutionary United 
Front (RUF) leader Foday Sankoh signed a peace accord on 30 November in 
Abidjan, Ctte d'Ivoire, ending more than five years of civil war in 
Sierra Leone. The agreement called for the immediate cessation of 
hostilities, the demobilization and disarmament of the RUF and its 
integration into the national army. Both parties and the mediators, the 
government of Ctte d'Ivoire, stressed that the agreement provided the 
framework for peace, but that strong leadership and considerable efforts 
would have to be forthcoming to ensure that it lasted. A cease-fire has 
been in effect since early 1996. However, the situation on the ground is 
complicated by the presence of mercenaries employed by the government 
and, recently, by the involvement of militias composed of "Kamajors", or 
traditional hunters, who officially support the government in providing 
protection to towns and villages but have been involved in clashes with 
army troops.

The ICRC welcomes the signing as a major step forward in the peace 
process, and hopes that the accord will be implemented successfully. The 
institution, through the regional delegation in Abidjan, has played a 
significant role as neutral intermediary in the negotiations this year by 
transporting the RUF leader and delegation out of Sierra Leone under the 
protection of the red cross emblem. It has also provided transport for 
the government delegation. Most recently, the institution flew Mr Sankoh 
to Sierra Leone to talk to his commanders in the bush, and brought him 
back to Abidjan for the signing ceremony.

During the five-year conflict in Sierra Leone nearly 40 percent of the 
country's population were forced to flee their homes. Hundreds of 
thousands of people left for Guinea and Liberia, but the majority sought 
refuge in camps for the displaced inside Sierra Leone. At the end of 
1995, more than one million were scattered throughout camps in Freetown, 
Bo, Kenema, Segbwema and Daru. Following the cease-fire early this year, 
some of the displaced started to return to their homes, and the upsurge 
of violence in Liberia in April prompted the return of several thousand 
who found shelter in provisional camps. In Zimmi alone the population 
trebled to 18,000 between April and June. The ICRC's priority is to 
enable these people to return home and resume normal life. The mainstay 
of the food supply is rural subsistence farming and cash cropping, and 
one of the ICRC's main goals is to help rebuild and stabilize this 
supply. Since February, the ICRC has been running a major relief 
operation along the border area with Liberia, and has reopened or set up 
offices and logistics bases in Kenema, Segbwema, Zimmi and Guickidou 
(Guinea).

The ICRC's relief and health programmes: looking towards the future

Promoting self-sufficiency

The agricultural assistance programme helps people returning to their 
homes to prepare their land for future crops, thus enabling food 
production to be restored and encouraging self-reliance. Food 
distributions, which can result in long-term dependency, will eventually 
be phased out.

Most recently, 1,260 tonnes of corn and soya blend, cornmeal and 
vegetable oil were distributed to nearly 160,000 civilians. Under the 
seed programme, 213 tonnes of rice and groundnut seed were distributed in 
September and October to nearly 75,000 people, along with hoes for 4,650 
families. In addition, in October, military operations led to an influx 
of internally displaced people to Blama and Kenema, and the ICRC handed 
out blankets, clothing and cooking pots to 655 people.

In 1997 the ICRC will set up emergency buffer stocks sufficient for 
20,000 people in case of a major influx of returnees or refugees, and 
will carry on providing 160,000 people with seed and agricultural tools. 
Food distributions (from World Food Programme stocks) will continue until 
the October 1997 harvest. At the same time, nutritional surveys will be 
carried out to determine needs and monitor the impact of food 
distributions.

Health

The ICRC will build up its existing primary health care (PHC) programme 
to provide up to 28 clinics and health posts in Daru, Kailahun, Pujehun 
and Zimmi with supplies, supervision and training. It will also improve 
the supply of safe drinking water and waste disposal in these areas.

The institution's vaccination campaigns have been particularly 
successful: by the end of September, in the RUF-controlled Pujehun area, 
3,500 out of a population of 5,560 had been vaccinated against yellow 
fever, 67 percent of under-fives had received inoculations against 
potentially life-threatening childhood diseases and 95 per cent of 
pregnant women had been vaccinated against tetanus. These campaigns will 
be kept up in 1997.

The ICRC intends to develop evacuations of serious medical cases from 
isolated government or RUF zones to referral facilities in Sierra Leone 
or Guinea.

Other activities

The ICRC has extended its detention-related activities in 
government-controlled areas from Freetown to Daru, Bo and Kenema. It will 
seek especially to expand its protection activities for civilians in 
RUF-held areas, initially by stepping up Red Cross message services. 
Accompanying dissemination activities will prove vital in ensuring the 
safety of ICRC personnel and continuation of their action.

Cooperation with the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society has yielded very 
encouraging results, especially in terms of the emergency preparedness 
programme. The ICRC will provide the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society with 
the material and technical support needed to run existing first-aid teams 
and posts and to set up several more.