The West African country of Liberia has suffered severe devastation and destruction in recent months.

On June 5, the Liberian civil war made a dramatic entry into the capital city of Monrovia. For a week, street battles raged and the whole city was plunged into pandemonium. The worst affected area was the western part of the city where the dissident fighters entered the town. The internally displaced persons sheltering in that section of the town had to flee along with the locals.

After the dissidents retreated, calm returned, but then on 24 June a renewed, intensive attack resulted in extensive destruction of infrastructure and human life. Hundreds of thousands have become internally displaced with most living in at least 50 new camps around the city of Monrovia.

People are still on the move seeking shelter in church compounds around the capital. Dissidents and other armed elements have paralysed. What remains of the country’s food supply systems and warehouses have been looted. Many lives are being lost and the rainy season is making the situation worse.

ACT (Action for Churches Together) International, is an ecumenical global alliance of churches and related aid agencies working to save lives and support communities during emergencies. It has issued an appeal on behalf of its Liberian counterparts, seeking assistance for those who have been attacked and left destitute. The immediate needs are food, clothes and medicines.

The National Council of Churches in Australia/Christian World Service has released $20,000 of emergency funds to help the Liberian Council of Churches assist 3,000 families with the basic necessities of life.

It is hoped that peace will return to this war-torn country as President Taylor moves to Nigeria where he has been promised asylum.

The NCCA asks people to pray for the Liberian Council of Churches and all of the ACT members in Liberia as they work to help the many who are destitute and traumatised through this recent conflict. 

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