Sierra Leone - UNHC: 20.Dec.97-20.Jan.98
Sierra Leone - UNHC: 20.Dec.97-20.Jan.98
SIERRA LEONE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION REPORT
Period covered: 20 December 1997 - 20 January 1998
This report has been prepared by the office of the United Nations
Humanitarian Coordinator for Sierra Leone in Conakry, Guinea
SECURITY
1. There was a significant deterioration in security in the Southern and
Eastern provinces during the period under review. This was attributable to
the launch of Operation -Black December- by the kamajors in a bid to gain
control of the roads in these areas. This Initiative was prompted by
recent AFRC statements indicating a reluctance to return power to President
Kabbah on 22nd April. In response to Operation Black December the People?s
Army burnt and looted many of the villages situated on the Mile 91 - Bo
highway. The office of some relief organisation operation in Bo were
looted and Durbar camp burnt causing approximately 5,000 displaced to move
into Bo town. An ACF local staff member was killed in an ambush on a
public taxi on the road between Bo and Pujehun. Fighting has also
continued between the AFRC and the kamajors in the diamondiferous areas in
Tongo and Zimmi.
2. At the meeting of the Committee of Five Foreign Ministers in Abuja on
19th December It was reported that the AFRC was upgrading the airstrip at
Magburaka into -fully-fledged airport for the illegal importation of arms
and other supplies. - It was noted that this was in violation of the UN
sanctions and ECOWAS embargo and ECOMOG was mandated by the Committee of
Five to ensure the airstrip was not used.
3. In Freetown indiscriminate looting continues. 6 Supreme Council Members
(including Sergeant Gborie, head of the anti-looting squad) were dismissed
after looting the Iranian embassy during the last week of December. The
murder of a trader in the West and of Freetown by a soldier on 13th January
incited a riot the following morning by civilians attempting to prevent the
removal of the body before the arrival of the UN Technical Assessment team.
The rioters were dispersed before the arrival of the UN team and it was
reported that many were subsequently arrested. Freedom of the press
continues to be severely curtailed and there is currently little objective
reporting emanating from Freetown.
Political Developments
4. From 14th-16 January the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General
(SESG), Ambassador Francis Okele, led a technical survey team on a mission
to Freetown to assess the commitment of the junta to the implementation of
the Conakry Peace Plan and to assess the condition of existing
infrastructure.
5. In discussions with the UN team the junta affirmed its commitment to the
Conakry Agreement but raised the following three provisors which it
considered crucial to the fulfilment of the Peace Plan: the immediate
release of Corporal Foday Sankoh, the non-disarmament of the Sierra Leone
Army and the dominant role played by the Nigerian contingent in ECOMOG.
The UN SESG undertook to convey these concerns to the UN Secretary-General
and to recommend that the junta and ECOWAS have a meeting, in accordance
with Article 8 of the Conakry Agreement, to discuss these and other matters
in more detail. On the issue of disarmament it was determined that very
little progress had been made. The UN SESG also indicated that he would
recommend that his liaison office be established in Freetown.
Humanitarian Developments
6. The humanitarian situation in Sierra Leone has continued to deteriorate.
This is primarily attributable to the scarcity of fuel which has a direct
impact on food prices due to increased transportation costs. For example,
in Freetown the price of a 50kg bag of rich has tripled since the coup.
Attempts by the authorities to fix the price of rice at an artificially low
level have proved unsuccessful as wholesalers have merely withheld stocks
preferring to conduct business in more attractive consumer marketing in
mining areas or trade on the black market.
7. In rural areas in the Southern and Eastern provinces the situation is
particularly acute as food circulation has also been affected by the
deteriorating security situation following the launch of Black December.
The benefits of the healthy rice harvest have been negated by looting from
armed elements and the increased incidence of rural -food taxes- imposed on
civilians by armed elements forcing farmers to board their harvest rather
than risk transporting it to market. In the towns of Bo and Kenema the
situation is particularly sever due to negligible quantities of food being
brought into these urban areas, coupled with an expanding displaced
population. As a result, the civilian population is entirely dependent on
existing supplies which is a source of real concern if the security
situation remains unchanged.
8. Although medical agencies have continued to transport modest quantities
of drugs and therapeutic milk across the Guinean border during the month of
December, food aid has still not entered Sierra Leone since the coup
leading to a virtual halt in food aid distributions as existing stocks are
almost exhausted. In an effort to expedite cross-border relief deliveries
from Guinea into Sierra Leone the exemption mechanism for humanitarian
items has been modified. The longstanding impediment, namely the
requirement for ECOMOG to inspect humanitarian shipment at the border, has
now been delegated to the Guinean Government by ECOWAS and it is
anticipated that Guinean troops at the border will fulfil this function in
the near future, under the observation of ECOWAS personnel.
9.In view of the concerns expressed by the UN security Council and others,
an inter-agency United Nations mission will be dispatched to Sierra Leone
to assess the humanitarian situation following the imposition of the UN
sanctions and ECOWAS embargo, in terms of access of the civilian population
to basic food and health care services, population displacement, basic
economic conditions and the activities of humanitarian organisations. The
team will elaborate on the rapid assessment of the humanitarian situation
in Sierra Leone conducted by the UN technical survey team.
HEALTH
10. During December 1997 ACF carried out a nutritional survey of 900
children living in non-camp areas of Freetown. The results expressed in
Z-score are as follows:
Dec. 1997 Dec. 1996
Global Acute malnutrition 8,7 percent 5,7 percent
(children from 6-59 months)
Severe Acute malnutrition 1,6 percent 0,8 percent
(children from 6-59 months)
The results indicate a deterioration in the nutritional structure status of
the under five population in Freetown during the past year although the
thresholds at which an emergency should be declared have not yet been
reached. These thresholds are 2 percent for severe malnutrition and 10
percent for global malnutrition.
11. There is evidence that maternal malnutrition is increasing. An
analysis of 21 deliveries in Waterloo camp on the outskirts of Freetown has
confirmed that 38 percent of children born between October and December
1997 are underweight.
12. Morbidity data analysis for Freetown from September to the end of
November revealed a slight decrease in the incidence of malaria and acute
respiratory infection, particularly among the under fives, although the
figures are still higher than normal at this time of year. The data
indicated very high attendance in all the clinics.
13. A UNICEF sponsored exercise to determine the extent of immunisation
coverage in Kambia town revealed low coverage for children under the age of
five and pregnant women (25 percent and 22 percent respectively). In
response to this situation UNICEF launched the first phase of its
immunisation campaign from 9-17th December in which under fives received
total coverage measles coverage and pregnant women were vaccinated against
tetanus.
14. Despite Kambia?s proximity to Guinea and its reputation as the bread
basket of Sierra Leone the most recent statistics from the MSF therapeutic
feeding centre clearly indicate that malnutrition is increasing among the
most vulnerable sector of society. First admissions into the feeding centre
increased by 24 percent during the month of December, second, the case
fatality rate rocketed to 25 percent during December 1997 compared with an
average of 14 percent in previous months.
15. During the second week of December MSF Holland started to support the
Peripheral Health Units in the towns of Yele, Masingbi and Bumbuna in
Tonkolili district through the provision of cold chain equipment, essential
drugs and monitoring equipment.
16. ICRC plans to expand its activities in Kailahun district to cover the
four chiefdoms in Eastern Kailahun which are currently being serviced by
the humanitarian wing of the RUF, the Organisation for the Survival of
Mankind. An assessment of the health and water and sanitation facilities in
these chiefdoms are planned for February 1998. ICRC also plans to introduce
an immunisation programme in the clinics in Pendembu, Baiwala and Mobai. It
is intended that UNICEF will supply vaccines and cold chain equipment.
17. In August 1997 ICRC started a well chlorination programme in Port Loko,
Bombali and Tonkolili districts as a preventive measure against the
outbreak of disease due to poor quality water. To date, 3,500 wells have
been chlorinated in 400 different villages.
REFUGEES
18. According to UNHCR?s latest figures the total number of Sierra Leonean
refugees in Guinea are as follows:
Location Pre-coup caseload New arrivals since coup
Conakry 20,000
Forecariah 23,000 40,000
Gueckedou 160,000 21,000
This report is available on the internet through RELIEFWEB:
http://www.reliefweb.int
Complex Emergency Division (CED) New York
Mr. Stephen Johnson
Tel.: 1 212) 963.3044
Fax: 1 212) 963.3630
E-Mail: johnsons@un.org
Inter-Agency Support Branch (IASB) Geneva
Mr. David Bassiouni - Chief
Mr. Arjun Katoch
Tel.: (41 22) 788.1401
Fax: (41 22) 788.6389
Registry E-Mail: Abu.Conteh@dha.unicc.org
Press to contact (OCHA-Geneva)
Ms. Madeleine Moulin-Acevedo
Tel.: (41 22) 917.2856
Fax: (41 22) 917.0023
Telex: 414242 DHA CH
E-Mail: Moulin-Acevedo@dha.unicc.org
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