Lutheran World Federation-World Service (LWF-WS), a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together, reports that the people who have been fleeing the conflict are now sleeping rough in the city. Widespread looting continues.

In a telephone interview with the ACT Coordinating Office, Charles Pitchford, the country representative for LWF-WS says that the latest clashes have been extremely disruptive and that the humanitarian aid community is anxious to get back to providing assistance to the tens of thousands of desperate people in the city and surrounding areas.

Pitchford says that he hopes that a humanitarian relief flight carrying a cargo of 52 tons of humanitarian relief items (food and non-food) by ACT member Norwegian Church Aid will now land on Monday (June 30). The flight had been postponed as a result of the latest fighting. The relief items are to be distributed by LWF-WS.

He says that the withdrawal of the LURD rebel force has given the humanitarian community a window of opportunity to respond to the crisis. "We really need those (humanitarian) shipments," he said.

Pitchford and other LWF-WS staff members have been confined to their homes over the last few days. "It's one thing to plan for this kind of situation, " he said, but "quite another to get caught up in it and live through it."

Pitchford had earlier reported that there are now more than fifty (50) new displacement centers in Monrovia. International NGOs still in the country are working with local NGOs to coordinate the available assistance "given the constraints and limitations of resources".

Lutheran World Service is specifically engaged in food distribution and refugee activities. Pitchford says that although not verified, it is believed that more than 750,000 people have been displaced by the war throughout the country.

The Lutheran Church and office compound in Monrovia have not come under attack.