Reports from our friends indicate rising anxiety and uneasiness in Liberia as the situation in Ivory Coast remains unresolved and refugees pour into Liberian villages on the border. Making matters worse, those who would report the facts of a dangerously out-of-control situation in Ivory Coast have become targets of the political leader now in power there. The regime in Ivory Coast is encouraging its supporters, (many of whom are simply armed thugs manning checkpoints, border crossings, etc.) to harass, intimidate and even "arrest" journalists. His supporters and minions are following his lead in repressing truth. "Arrest" has an ominous meaning deep in the jungle around pourous and fluid border areas. There is no actual jail or court and the ones arrested are in the hands of and subject to the whim of a local, heavily armed "commander" who has absolute power and is accountable to no one.


LOEP has received horrifying first-hand reports from our Liberian friends in tense areas. They have experienced frightening and dangerous harassment and intimidation from border guards while trying to go about their work documenting Ivorian refugee flight and helping in the increasingly serious humanitarian crisis that threatens to become a calamity for the entire region.

Highly recommend this excellent report on the situation:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/11/west_africa_lurches_toward_war