DATE=08/13/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-306436

TITLE=LIBERIA/HUMANITARIAN (S)

BYLINE=SARAH SIMPSON

DATELINE=ABIDJAN

CONTENT:

VOICED AT:

INTRO: International aid agencies are gearing up to launch a massive relief operation in Liberia, following the rebels' pledge to vacate the main port in Monrovia. Sarah Simpson reports from the V-O-A west Africa bureau in Abidjan.

TEXT: The World Food Program has a supply ship off the coast of Liberia, according to U-N relief co-ordinator, Carolyn McAskie. The food and medical supplies will dock in Monrovia as soon as rebels withdraw from the port.

In a meeting with the U-S ambassador Tuesday, rebel leaders promised to hand the port over to the peacekeepers by noon local time Thursday.

The population of Monrovia swelled in the last weeks of President Taylor's rule, as civilians tried to flee escalating fighting on the outskirts. But people are struggling to find food and the few clinics operating have minimal supplies.

Liberia is at the end of its rainy season. Torrential tropical downpours are hindering the relief operation and making living conditions more difficult for the tens-of-thousands who have taken temporary shelter in Monrovia. (SIGNED)

NEB/SS/MAR/RAE