Monrovia faces 'serious starvation'

2003-07-28 08:01

Monrovia - Liberia's war-devastated capital faces "serious starvation" if fighting does not end immediately, a top official of the national Red Cross Society warned on Sunday.

"If nothing is done in a week's time there will be serious starvation," Daniel Clarke told AFP in an interview, noting that farmers had long fled the northern Lofa County, considered the west African country's breadbasket.

Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) launched their campaign to oust President Charles Taylor nearly five years ago in Lofa, the Red Cross secretary general added.

He said displacements of people fleeing fighting elsewhere in the country, which is four-fifths under rebel control, had swelled the population of war-battered Monrovia to a million from its usual size of about 600 000.

"This city was never designed to take such numbers," he said. "The humanitarian situation is growing worse by the hour and food has run out a long time ago. I dread to think what things will be like in a week's time."

"Monrovia port is being controlled by the rebels so it is out of bounds for food, medical and other supplies," he said.

"People are walking eight kilometres to buy rice, if it is available. The price has more than doubled and now a 50kg bag of rice costs $50, when it used to cost $20 earlier."

His warning came amid raging battles in the heart of the city, where up to 200 000 people are living without shelter amid an acute scarcity of food, drinking water and medicines.

Sanitation is almost non-existent in most parts of the city, which has been besieged by rebels since last month.

Clarke said operations of the local Red Cross were "down to nil" after last weekend when the rebels rained mortars on the city, killing hundreds according to the government.

"I call this phase World War III," he said. "Just before this period, pro-government militiamen stormed into our national headquarters and stripped the place bare. They took four four-wheel drive vehicles, computers, lab equipment and a safe with about $8 000.

Red Cross workers

"We were just left with one ambulance," he said, adding that militiamen damaged it beyond repair when Red Cross workers refused to loan it to them.

"We were just scared that we would never see it again," he said.

Clarke slammed the government for failing to contain the militias - typically unruly young men with weapons, who often go on the rampage - looting and pillaging with impunity.

"We wrote a letter to the head of police Paul Mulbah but we received no response," he said. "We issued appeals on the radio but nothing was done. One of our volunteers died after being run down by a speeding militia jeep.

"If those who are supposed to protect us loot and do all kinds of damage, who will we turn to?" he asked.

The 200 volunteers with the Red Cross have been working without pay since last month, Clarke said, adding that he and his staff had not received this month's salaries as the safe contained all the cash the Red Cross had left.

All that is left in the way of medical supplies is a carton of first aid material.

Varefee Dorley, the national relief co-ordinator, said 85% of the staff had to flee their homes due to the fighting but were plodding on, trying to be of help with the limited resources at their disposal.

"Our boys carry drinking water from Mamba Point (the diplomatic area) to the inner city for elderly people trapped there. They cart 15 five-gallon containers of water in each barrow.

"They also transport the injured on wheelbarrows to the JFK hospital (the sole medical facility with a functional surgical unit) and to foreign aid workers such as MSF (Medecins sans Frontieres - Doctors Without Borders) and Merlin."

He said volunteers also helped out foreign aid workers.

But Dorley said their patience was running out. "We have our own families who have not eaten for days, who are living precariously. We are now the vulnerable ones."

- AFP