New Liberian refugee flow raises fears of continued fighting - UN

More than 4,500 new Liberian refugees have arrived in southern Guinea's forest region in the past week, stretching the United Nations refugee agency's capacity there, raising fears of continued fighting in Liberia and prompting calls for the urgent deployment of peacekeepers throughout the war-scarred West African country.

The influx appears to be continuing, comprising mostly children, women and the elderly who are reported to be in dire need of food and health care, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a news release today. The clinic in Fassankony has already treated some of the most urgent cases, it added.

"This development is very worrying," UNHCR's Africa Bureau Director in Geneva, David Lambo, said. "It is obvious that many areas in Liberia are still very insecure and fighting continues.

"It is vital that peacekeepers are deployed throughout Liberia as soon as possible. We cannot afford to have a large-scale outflow of refugees into neighbouring countries at this time. On the contrary we should be moving towards a post-conflict recovery stage and prepare for repatriation as soon as possible," he added.

On Friday the UN Security Council unanimously approved the establishment of a peacekeeping mission in Liberia with 15,000 soldiers following a ceasefire and peace accord between the rebels and the government and the departure of former President Charles Taylor to exile in Nigeria. At present a UN-authorized multinational force, mainly from West African nations, is deployed in the country to maintain the peace after 12 years of conflict.

The new arrivals are said to be from the Loma ethnic group and apparently fled Liberia's Lofa county fearing ethnic reprisals after the Liberian army pulled out and the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), one of the main rebel groups that has been battling the government, announced that they would take over their towns.

UNHCR estimates there are nearly 116,000 Liberian refugees in the south of Guinea.