Brussels/Monrovia -The situation in Monrovia, Liberia, is increasingly chaotic with thousands of displaced people arriving in the capital. The international medical aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports that, since yesterday, tens of thousands of displaced people are fleeing the refugee camps outside the capital and moving into Monrovia.

"Last night we saw thousands of displaced people - mainly children under five, women and elderly - wandering around in Monrovia, looking for a place to sleep," says Alain Kassa, MSF Head of Mission in Monrovia.

"Some of them found shelter with relatives but many spent the night in churches, empty buildings, the market and on the streets. It is raining heavily, these people are already extremely vulnerable due to insecurity and lack of assistance and therefore we are looking at a humanitarian catastrophe in the making."

Today more displaced people continue to arrive in Monrovia. Meanwhile over the past weeks many aid organisations reduced their presence and activities, due to insecurity and inaccessibility to many areas. "We have to adapt our assistance day by day," Alain Kassa continued. "We are now trying to identify where most of the displaced people are gathering to provide them with health care, shelter, food, water and sanitation."

Humanitarian access in Liberia has been decreasing for three years now. Due to insecurity, aid organisations do not have access to 80% of the country. MSF is very concerned about the situation and the condition of the local population and urges the international community to ensure assistance to them.

MSF reiterates the responsibility of all parties in the conflict to respect civilians and allow assistance. MSF still has a total of 12 international staff in Monrovia. They continue to work in the only public hospital and six clinics, and run a Cholera Treatment Centre. Outside Monrovia, MSF is also assisting displaced populations in Totota, Bong County.