At least three people were killed and seven wounded yesterday in
clashes between rebels and government troops and militiamen as
United Nations peacekeepers began taking over from west African
soldiers in Liberia, wracked by 14 years of war.
Heavy fighting broke out in the capital Monrovia after a convoy escorting a rebel leader came under attack in an eastern district of the city, witnesses said.
Sekou Damate Conneh, leader of the main rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd), was on his way to see President Moses Blah when his convoy came under attack in an area home to many supporters of exiled former president Charles Taylor.
Witnesses said civilians began throwing stones at Conneh's convoy and his escorts opened fire, prompting militiamen and government troops to intervene.
"Lurd fighters responded by opening fire and throwing grenades.
Two teenagers died instantly when a Lurd fighter threw a grenade in their direction," one witness, Francis Gbessay, said.
The sporadic firing, which lasted for about 15 minutes, sent civilians fleeing in all directions.
Traders who had gathered in the busy commercial district abandoned their wares and fled.
A Lurd fighter was also killed in the clashes, and troops of the UN force UNMIL fired in the air to disperse a group of militiamen who had set upon his body to mutilate it.
The militiamen tried to burn the body, chanting: "We want Taylor, we want Taylor", witnesses said.
The convoy of more than 30 vehicles returned to base, forcing the meeting between Conneh and Blah to be called off for the third time since Saturday.
One of the vehicles was carrying the outgoing commander of the west African (Ecomil) force General Festus Okonkwo, the UN Security Council voted last month to deploy a peacekeeping force in Liberia, to help the west African country emerge from two successive civil wars that have left it the poorest nation in the world.
The UN force was due at a ceremony later yesterday to officially take over peacekeeping duties from west African soldiers who have been in Liberia since August 4, a week before Taylor stood down and went into exile in Nigeria.
Taylor's exit in August paved the way for peace talks between rebels and the government which resulted in a ceasefire and the creation of an interim, civilian-led government, tasked with taking Liberia to elections.
The west African force already on the ground will be incorporated in the UN force, which will eventually number 15 000 soldiers and has an initial mandate of one year.
Yesterday morning, most of the west African peacekeepers at checkpoints near the capital Monrovia were prepared for the changeover, already wearing the blue caps and badges of the UN force.
"They will all wear the blue caps and badges after the formal transfer of power at Roberts International Airport later today (Wednesday)," Ecomil spokesperson Major Ogun Sanya said.
The UN force, Unmil, will not only police the ceasefire between rebels of Lurd and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (Model), and the government, but will also help disarm, demobilise, and reintegrate into civilian life former combatants in the long Liberian conflict, a UN statement said.
It will also assist humanitarian relief efforts, protect civilians from violence, and establish conditions for the safe return of refugees and internally displaced people, the statement said.
Around 3 500 west African soldiers are currently deployed in Liberia.
Nigeria has contributed the bulk of the troops in the force, with Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Senegal and Togo also sending soldiers to their troubled regional neighbour.
The west African force has deployed primarily in Monrovia and its surroundings. A contingent from Benin is expected in the country shortly, but the force is too small to cover all of Liberia.
When it is at full strength, the 15 000-strong Unmil will be able to cover the entire west African country, where sporadic fighting still continues and where war-weary civilians flee on mere rumours of unrest.
On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva said thousands of Liberians had fled to neighbouring Guinea in recent weeks, fearing attacks by rebels.
The UN force will comprise not only soldiers from Ecowas countries, but also from other parts of Africa and the rest of the world. – Sapa-AFP.
Heavy fighting broke out in the capital Monrovia after a convoy escorting a rebel leader came under attack in an eastern district of the city, witnesses said.
Sekou Damate Conneh, leader of the main rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd), was on his way to see President Moses Blah when his convoy came under attack in an area home to many supporters of exiled former president Charles Taylor.
Witnesses said civilians began throwing stones at Conneh's convoy and his escorts opened fire, prompting militiamen and government troops to intervene.
"Lurd fighters responded by opening fire and throwing grenades.
Two teenagers died instantly when a Lurd fighter threw a grenade in their direction," one witness, Francis Gbessay, said.
The sporadic firing, which lasted for about 15 minutes, sent civilians fleeing in all directions.
Traders who had gathered in the busy commercial district abandoned their wares and fled.
A Lurd fighter was also killed in the clashes, and troops of the UN force UNMIL fired in the air to disperse a group of militiamen who had set upon his body to mutilate it.
The militiamen tried to burn the body, chanting: "We want Taylor, we want Taylor", witnesses said.
The convoy of more than 30 vehicles returned to base, forcing the meeting between Conneh and Blah to be called off for the third time since Saturday.
One of the vehicles was carrying the outgoing commander of the west African (Ecomil) force General Festus Okonkwo, the UN Security Council voted last month to deploy a peacekeeping force in Liberia, to help the west African country emerge from two successive civil wars that have left it the poorest nation in the world.
The UN force was due at a ceremony later yesterday to officially take over peacekeeping duties from west African soldiers who have been in Liberia since August 4, a week before Taylor stood down and went into exile in Nigeria.
Taylor's exit in August paved the way for peace talks between rebels and the government which resulted in a ceasefire and the creation of an interim, civilian-led government, tasked with taking Liberia to elections.
The west African force already on the ground will be incorporated in the UN force, which will eventually number 15 000 soldiers and has an initial mandate of one year.
Yesterday morning, most of the west African peacekeepers at checkpoints near the capital Monrovia were prepared for the changeover, already wearing the blue caps and badges of the UN force.
"They will all wear the blue caps and badges after the formal transfer of power at Roberts International Airport later today (Wednesday)," Ecomil spokesperson Major Ogun Sanya said.
The UN force, Unmil, will not only police the ceasefire between rebels of Lurd and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (Model), and the government, but will also help disarm, demobilise, and reintegrate into civilian life former combatants in the long Liberian conflict, a UN statement said.
It will also assist humanitarian relief efforts, protect civilians from violence, and establish conditions for the safe return of refugees and internally displaced people, the statement said.
Around 3 500 west African soldiers are currently deployed in Liberia.
Nigeria has contributed the bulk of the troops in the force, with Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Senegal and Togo also sending soldiers to their troubled regional neighbour.
The west African force has deployed primarily in Monrovia and its surroundings. A contingent from Benin is expected in the country shortly, but the force is too small to cover all of Liberia.
When it is at full strength, the 15 000-strong Unmil will be able to cover the entire west African country, where sporadic fighting still continues and where war-weary civilians flee on mere rumours of unrest.
On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva said thousands of Liberians had fled to neighbouring Guinea in recent weeks, fearing attacks by rebels.
The UN force will comprise not only soldiers from Ecowas countries, but also from other parts of Africa and the rest of the world. – Sapa-AFP.
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