Liberian church leaders seek aid from Americans

MONROVIA, Liberia — Liberian church leaders are seeking emergency aid from American Christians as the proliferation of armed groups threatens the stability of a nation ravaged by 13 years of civil war.

Fighting between the Liberian government and rebel factions continues to prevent relief agencies from bringing supplies to 80 percent of the country, according to United Nations sources and Church World Service, the relief arm of the U.S. National Council of Churches. Hundreds of thousands of refugees in camps around Liberia have been cut off from the World Food Program’s aid because armed raiders have repeatedly seized rations.

Liberia suffered a devastating civil war that raged from 1989 to 1994, claiming 200,000 lives. Since renewed violence erupted in 1999, more than a million of the West African nation’s residents have been displaced while another half-million have fled to neighboring countries.