LIBERIA* (19 August)
The humanitarian situation remains alarming. Due to protracted fighting in Monrovia, hundreds of thousands of people have sought refuge in makeshift shelters across the city, leaving them without any access to adequate food supplies and in urgent need of assistance. There were an estimated 300 000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) scattered in almost 100 temporary shelters in the city including churches, schools, stadiums, etc without running water or food and need urgent assistance, but as long as the fighting continued it was impossible to get supplies to them. According to OCHA, as of late July, an estimated 50 000 IDPs remained in the old camps of Brewerville (Blamese, Plumkor, and Seigbeh). In Bong County, there were 56 000 internally displaced persons in Totota and 35 000 in Salala. In Margibi County, there were 6 800 IDPs in Kakata camp, and in Grand Bassa County, there were an estimated 11 000 internally displaced persons in Buchanan. In addition to IDPs there are 14 000 Sierra Leonean refugees in Monrovia and in refugee camps in the Brewerville area. The humanitarian community has no access to an estimated 20 000 Sierra Leone refugees scattered in Cape Mount and Lofa counties. There are approximately 20 000 Ivorian refugees and third country nationals in Grand Gedeh, Nimba and Maryland counties, who are also trapped in the fighting in eastern Liberia. There is no information on their condition or exact whereabouts. Thousands entered Sierra Leone and western Côte d’Ivoire. Internally displaced persons and refugees in Monrovia are living in overcrowded shelters with poor water supply and sanitation, which has lead to the outbreak of diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera.
Humanitarian assistance is seriously hampered by insecurity. WFP international staff was evacuated, but national staff remained and distributed food to more than 100 000 IDPs, until WFP operations were suspended on 18 July due to the intensity of fighting. As of late July, the Freeport of Monrovia, where WFP's office and warehouses are located, remains under the control of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebels. Following the rebel withdrawal in mid-August and the improvement of the overall security situation, WFP is planning to send 9 000 tonnes of food per month to feed an estimated 500 000 people, most of them in Monrovia.