Sierra Leone - HACU: 23.May-08.Jun.98
Sierra Leone - HACU: 23.May-08.Jun.98
UNITED NATIONS
Office of the United Nations Resident Co-ordinator in Sierra Leone
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION REPORT FOR SIERRA LEONE
23RD MAY - 8TH JUNE, 1998
Security
1. The security situation has continued to deteriorate as RUF / AFRC
expands its presence throughout the North of Sierra Leone. Rebel attacks
are now taking place as far west as Rogberi Junction, located between Port
Loko and Lunsar towns and there has been rebel movement reported to the
South of Kukuna in Kambia district. In other parts of the North, rebels
continue to attack and burn villages and inflict atrocities an innocent
civilians. On 23rd May the RUF inflicted its most significant defeat on
ECOMOG since the return of the democratically-elected Government when a
group of about 150 rebels launched a well-coordinated attack on Fadugu, an
ECOMOG-held village to the South of Kabala in Koinadugu district. ECOMOG
were put to flight and sustained some casualties after which the rebels
laid waste to the village. Ongoing insecurity is clearly having a negative
impact on the ability of humanitarian agencies to access populations at
risk.
2. One of ECOMOG's major constraints thus far has been a lack of
logistical capacity. In an attempt to address this issue the USA has
provided ECOMOG with the logistics and communication services of PAE,
valued at US$ 4 million.
Humanitarian Developments
3. The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
will visit Sierra Leone 10-13 June, 1998. The purpose of the mission is
to assess the humanitarian situation in Sierra Leone and to draw the
attention of the local and international community to outstanding areas of
concern.
4. On 3rd June an interagency mission comprising the UN Humanitarian
Coordinator and representatives from NCRRR, UNICEF, WFP, UN-HACU, the
Field Security Officer and Christian Extension Services conducted a rapid
assessment of Koidu town in Kono district. This was the first time that
the humanitarian community has visited Koidu since the ECOMOG
intervention. The mission observed that Koidu town was completely
destroyed and that security was tenuous.
The mission was unanimous in its conclusion that Koidu town was facing a
serious humanitarian emergency, the scale of which was far more severe
than any other area of Sierra Leone assessed since the return of the
democratically-elected Government to power. The civilian population was
clearly in distress. A large proportion of the children in the town were
displaying visible signs of malnutrition and numerous individuals were
afflicted with skin diseases associated with prolonged hiding in the bush.
Medical facilities were non-existent with the exception of occasional
treatment by ECOMOG or local doctors. Water and sanitation facilities
were observed to be poor.
5. Local residents reported an influx of 38,000 displaced into Koidu town.
While the mission was in no position to verify this figure, physical
crowding of the urban environment was evident. Most houses contained 8-12
adults with children although some interviewees reported figures as high
as 20 adults with children per household. Most of the shelters required
roofing materials which is a cause of concern in light of the impending
rainy season.
6. There are clearly immediate life-threatening circumstances in Koidu
which must be immediately addressed to improve the condition of the
civilian population. However, as Koidu is clearly in the war zone care
must be taken to ensure that the delivery of humanitarian assistance does
not contribute to the dynamics of the conflict. Discussions are currently
ongoing within the humanitarian community to prepare a joint strategy to
address the current situation in Koidu in the most effective manner.
7. During the period under review MSF and ICRC have conducted several
one-day assessments by helicopter in the North-East of Sierra Leone. Areas
visited include Alikalia and Kabala in Koinadugu district, Njaiama-Sewafe
in Kono district and Masingbi in the East of Tonkolili district. These
locations were chosen due to prior reports of an influx of war-wounded
into these areas and the assessments focused primarily on providing
assistance to these target groups. As a result, small quantities of
dressings and medical supplies were delivered and small numbers of
war-wounded were evacuated to Freetown. The most significant finding to
emerge from these assessments is that access to healthcare remains a
serious issue for many civilians living in the North-East. It is estimated
that 20 % of war-wounded are able to find their way to safety and that the
majority remain in the bush for security reasons.
8. United Nations agencies are in the process of preparing a Consolidated
Interagency Appeal for humanitarian assistance to Sierra Leone to cover
the period from 1 March - 31 December, 1998. The document attempts to
illustrate the following: the impact of humanitarian interventions during
the period of the Flash Appeal ( ie. March through May 1998 ), the impact
of those activities planned and not implemented, the impact of those
activities undertaken outside the framework of the Flash Appeal and
planned activities for the June-December period covered by the new Appeal.
The document also outlines changes in the humanitarian climate during the
past three months. In this regard it highlights the precarious
humanitarian plight of civilians in the North and the North-East in the
wake of the ECOMOG offensive in these areas resulting in the exodus of
over 150,000 refugees in Guinea and Liberia and extensive internal
displacement.
Food Aid
9. Relief trucks are now being commandeered by ECOMOG and the Civil
Defence Force in Kambia and Makeni as well as in Bo and Kenema districts
despite verbal assurances from the ECOMOG Force Commander and the Deputy
Minister of Defence ( and de facto head of the CDF ) that such activities
would cease. Commandeering of vehicles has hampered agencies' ability to
deliver relief supplies as many transporters are reluctant to move around
much of the country.
10. The Committee on Food Aid ( CFA ) has approved a joint Food for
Agriculture strategy to guide agricultural interventions in 1998. The
policy states that Food for Agriculture may be provided as a complement to
inputs of seeds and tools to identified farm families and that farm
families should normally not receive assistance for more than one planting
season. Given the deterioration of security in the North during the past
few months Food for Agriculture may be authorised on an exceptional basis
to farmers who received inputs during 1997 but subsequently lost them
through looting and destruction.
Health
11. The influx of war-wounded into Connaught hospital in Freetown and the
Government Hospital in Makeni continues to rise. In an effort to
alleviate overcrowding at Connaught hospital ICRC has rented a private
hospital to cope with a potential influx in the future. Several amputees
have also been relocated to the clinic at Waterloo refugee camp on the
outskirts of Freetown. Health facilities in Magburaka and Port Loko are
being rehabilitated in a bid to alleviate the pressure on the overcrowded
hospitals in Freetown.
12. The British Medical Research Council has reactivated five health
centres to the North of Bo a process which has been supported by UNICEF
through the consignment of drugs and surgical equipment. The second phase
of the UNICEF-supported mass immunisation campaign in the Western Area is
underway. The programme targets 100,000 children under the age of five and
50,000 women of child bearing age. Arrangements for similar campaigns in
Bo and Kenema have been finalised.
Child Protection
13. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and
Armed Conflict visited Sierra Leone from 26-29th May, 1998 to assess the
needs of children affected by conflict. The Special Representative managed
to extract several commitments from the Government, ECOMOG and the Civil
Defence Force as follows:
- The Civil Defence Force would stop recruiting and initiating children
under the age of 18 and would begin the process of demobilising child
combatants within their ranks.
- ECOMOG and the kamajors agreed to provide special protection to AFRC/RUF
child combatants who come into their custody through surrender, capture or
escape.
- In creating a new national army the Government agreed that children
under the age of 18 would not be recruited and that the UN would help with
the provision of training material on respect for civilians, particularly
women and children.
- Parliamentarians agreed to create a caucus advocating the rights of
children.
- It was agreed that a Joint Task Force be constituted, comprising
representatives from ECOMOG, Civil Defence Force, Ministry of Social
Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs and international humanitarian
agencies to establish and oversee a procedure for the demobilisation and
reintegration of ex-combatants.
14. The Child Protection committee, which comprises representatives from
Government, UN agencies and NGOs, has coordinated the registration of 52
children associated with the fighting forces and 130 unaccompanied
children in Daru and Segbwema in the East of Sierra Leone following recent
assessment missions to this area. The children will continue to stay with
foster parents until their families are traced. The registration team
noted that though the number of unaccompanied children was not alarming, a
large number of children were living with vulnerable families.
Refugees
15. UNHCR has launched a Flash Appeal for US$ 7.3 million to meet the
immediate protection and emergency needs of 255,000 Sierra Leonean
refugees in Guinea and Liberia from March to December 1998. Since the
start of the ECOMOG offensive in the East of Sierra Leone in March 1998,
182,000 new Sierra Leonean arrivals have been registered in Guinea and
55,000 in Liberia bringing the total caseload to 530,000 in these two
countries. Although the influx of refugees into Liberia has ceased, the
influx into Eastern Guinea continues with the result that UNHCR has added
an additional 18,000 to the current caseload for planning purposes.
16. UNHCR raises several issues related to protection in the Appeal. In
Guinea, refugees presumed to be AFRC/RUF combatants are arrested and taken
to Conakry without UNHCR being given the opportunity to access these
refugees to determine whether they should be excluded from UNHCR's
mandate. In Liberia there are reports of 2,000 former AFRC / RUF
combatants among the Sierra Leonean refugees arriving in Vahun. This is a
source of concern as it is important that military elements are separated
from the refugees to maintain the civilian character of refugee sites.
UNHCR is currently in discussions with ECOMOG and the Government of
Liberia over the involvement of ECOMOG in the physical separation of
former combatants from the civilian refugee population.
17. The proximity of Vahun to areas of Sierra Leone still under AFRC / RUF
control is another security concern to UNHCR. It is important to relocate
these Sierra Leoneans to other areas before the onset of the rainy season,
which will make transportation virtually impossible. However, the
proposed relocation exercise is subject to two major constraints: first,
UNHCR's truck fleet in the region is overstretched on account of the
ongoing repatriation of Liberian refugees; second, many refugees in Vahun
are reluctant to move away from the border due to ethnic affinity with the
local population.
Freetown, 9 June 16:30 gmt
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