Annan urges Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia to engage in dialogue to end conflict

Against the backdrop of a disintegrating humanitarian and security situation at the borders between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged the warring parties to meet to address the conflict's underlying causes.

"The Secretary-General believes that the best way to stem this instability is through dialogue," United Nations spokesman Fred Eckhard said in a statement. "He supports the recent call by ECOWAS [the Economic Community of West African States] for the three leaders of the Mano River Union countries to meet without further delay and devise ways to resolve the crisis peacefully."

The need for dialogue, the spokesman said, is underscored by the recent escalation of fighting in Lofa County in northern Liberia, which has caused the displacement of several thousand civilians

In Monrovia, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) confirmed today that there were movements of both Liberians and Sierra Leonean refugees who had spontaneously settled in Lofa. Some are crossing the border into eastern Sierra Leone, rather than into Guinea, where passage is impossible. According to UNHCR, the movement of the refugees, while not significant, started intensifying in the middle of last week.