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| East/Subsaharan Africa | |
| Liberia rebels ’repulsed’ | |
| 2003-06-26 | |
| EFL Fighters loyal to President Charles Taylor have pushed rebels back to the outskirts of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, the defence minister says. Fighting is now taking place around St Paul's bridge, some 10 kilometres from the city centre, Daniel Chea told the French news agency, AFP. Damm Mr Chea said that 37 civilians had been killed during the fighting. "These guys mounted 81 mm mortar guns in Bushrod Island and started firing at random. Shells landed in the city centre and near the American embassy. At least 37 civilians died in downtown areas. I have seen the bodies," he said. Bushrod Island is separated from the city centre by a narrow strip of water. As the violence raged, a top United Nations diplomat proposed that the United States lead a peacekeeping force. Sir Jeremy Greenstock, the British Ambassador to the UN, said it "would be broadly welcomed internationally" if the US were to lead an intervention. He described the US as "the natural candidate" for the mission. Liberia was founded by freed American slaves.
However, the American Ambassador in Monrovia, John William Blaney, told the BBC that the parties had to stop fighting first. Mr Blaney condemned the attack on the US embassy compound as "an outrageous and inhumane act". The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) rebels, which control some two-thirds of the country, have said they will not stop until they take full control of Monrovia. "If Mr Taylor wants peace, we will give him peace. But the only sound Mr Taylor understands is the sound of AK-47 and that is what we are playing for him," Lurd spokesman Mohammed Kamara told the BBC. Nice phrase, guess that's why they made him spokesman. | |
| Posted by:Steve |