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By Kate Scannell - West Africa Regional Communications Manager
Outbreaks of fighting in Freetown Sunday night between former Sierra Leone Army soldiers loyal to AFRC's Johnny Paul Koroma and UN peacekeepers left two peacekeepers and three ex-SLA fighters dead. This skirmish is the first since British troops helped to secure the Sierra Leone capital two weeks ago.
Myles Harrison, Operations Director, reports from Freetown that though the situation has been relatively calm and quiet in recent days, there is still a lot of concern for the short- to medium-term future of this tiny West African nation: "The situation here is still fluid, but we're trying our best to respond as we're able to."
Most of World Vision's activities, concentrated particularly in the Southern Province, continue despite increased insecurity in the rest of the country. The Southern Province remains quiet, though people in the key town of Bo, including World Vision staff, continue to struggle with increasing prices for staple foods and fuel. As vehicles begin to arrive from Freetown, it is hoped that prices will stabilize.
Program activities include:
Food distributions -- 'World Vision staff have just helped distribute food to around 4,000 internally displaced people, who have recently arrived at two camps in Freetown and Waterloo as a result of the recent fighting.
Agriculture -- in addition to continued activities in the southern province, World Vision is working with the Ministry of Agriculture, the European Union and other nongovernmental organizations to distribute upland rice seed, targeted to now-inaccessible areas, to other areas in the province which can be accessed. World Vision is currently planning to distribute seeds to approximately 4,000 farming families in accessible areas.
Support for civil society -- World Vision has been working closely with civil society groups to promote peace among the general population. With the vast majority of Sierra Leoneons expressing their desire for peace despite almost a decade of civil war characterized by widespread atrocities, support to civil groups is a key part of World Vision's work, which continues now in the face of increased fear of fighting.
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