|
Liberia Fighting Rages As Taylor Hangs On
I really wanted to leave out the "On" in that title. EFLCharles Taylorâs forces battled Tuesday to retake key cities captured by rebels in fighting that had the Liberian warlord-turned-president threatening to hang onto power despite his pledge to resign. Aid workers tending to emaciated babies in Monrovia said the new combat cut the starving capitalâs last aid lifeline. Desperate refugees, crossing paths as they fled one embattled Liberian city for another, said there was no place to turn. ``All over, fighting now,ââ said Hadija Kabah, 54, caring for more than a dozen children and grandchildren at a makeshift camp outside Monrovia. ``Thereâs no place safe to go in Liberia.ââ Ainât that the truth. ``People are fighting this side. People are fighting that side,ââ said businessman Norman Anderson, arriving at the camp from Buchanan, Liberiaâs second-largest city, where Taylorâs forces launched a counterattack Tuesday. He pointed first up, then down, the road. Referring to repeatedly stalled international promises of a peace force, Anderson said bitterly: ``You all are making fun of us. We need the international body now, not tomorrow. We are dying now.ââ Not our problem. Go get a rifle and join LURD, and fight for your own country. Arguments over funding are believed to be delaying deployment of a peace mission, pledged by West African nations with assurances of U.S. and other international assistance. Nigeria, West Africaâs military power, has offered two battalions but says it needs help with what it expects to be a multimillion-dollar daily tab. And if we offer to help pay, the tab will be higher. Asked after meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair in London when peacekeeping troops might go in, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo told reporters, ``a few days "We could support two battalions for a week, or a company for a month." On Monday, Liberiaâs second, smaller rebel group abandoned its own cease-fire pledge and went on the offensive, capturing the southeastern port of Buchanan. Government forces waged a counterattack Tuesday, battling in the streets of the city. As evening arrived, neither side was in control. ``Buchanan was the only alternative way to ship some food into Liberia,ââ Frederic Bardou said at a feeding station run by Action Contre la Faim, or Action against Hunger. ``Now - you can forget about it,ââ said Bardou, surrounded by listless children held by their wasting mothers. Under pressure from the United States, the rebel group behind the siege of the capital called a new cease-fire late Tuesday. It was the latest in weeks of truce declarations — repeatedly flouted by fighters on both sides. Tuesdayâs cease-fire declaration showed no more promise of sticking than the others. When word passed over the radio, Monroviaâs war-weary residents started cheering. Minutes later, three loud explosions sent thousands diving for cover. They ought to know better by now. In Washington, the Bush administration insisted Taylor must get out. ``Certainly, we have made clear that he needs to leave,ââ State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. ``The presidentâs made clear that he needs to leave, and that departure needs to be coincident with the arrival of peacekeepers.ââ Bushâs assistant secretary of state for Africa, Walter Kansteiner, was expected Wednesday in the region for talks on Liberiaâs crisis. Officials in Guinea said the U.S. envoyâs first stop was that country, which is accused of funding Liberiaâs rebels in retaliation for cross-border raids by Liberia. "We told Chuck, âdonât screw with usâ, but did he listen? NO-O-O-O-o-o-o-o!" Meanwhile, West African leaders called the latest in weeks of talks on Liberia and the long-delayed peace mission. This round, set for Thursday in Accra, Ghana, was to be for top leaders, authorities said. Hey, theyâre just like the U.N. — talk, talk, talk. No wonder Kofi supports them! Posted by: Steve White 2003-07-30 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=17061 |