US military experts yesterday arrived in Liberia to evaluate the
humanitarian and security situation in the battle-scarred nation a
day after President Charles Taylor agreed to go to Nigeria to end a
ruinous civil war.
The small group of experts arrived in Monrovia on a reconnaissance mission as President George W Bush - poised to leave for his first official tour of Africa - continued to mull whether to dispatch US peacekeepers to Liberia.
US Ambassador to Liberia John Blaney, who received the experts, said: "We'll take the team around to see different places where IDPs (internally displaced people) and refugees are.
We are greatly concerned by the humanitarian situation".
The team's leader Roger Coldiron said he was not in Monrovia in a military capacity, but there to "assess the security situation" and determine the humanitarian needs.
Hundreds of thousands of Liberians have in recent weeks fled fighting on the outskirts of the capital to seek refuge in the heart of Monrovia, where many are living rough, with little in the way of food and hygiene.
The American move drew a puzzled reaction from humanitarian workers on the ground.
"It's a little strange because a military team has come to evaluate humanitarian needs," Dominique Liengme from the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
Alain Kassa, the head of the Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) mission in Liberia, said the American experts would only be of use if they could ensure a "secure environment".
"If they have come to tell us what to do, as they have in some other places in the world, it's not worth the effort," he said.
But displaced Liberians sheltered near the US embassy welcomed the Americans and called for the hasty exit of Taylor.
As the first of the soldiers flew into the embassy by helicopter from neighbouring Sierra Leone, the crowds around the embassy cried "Welcome USA, welcome".
In Washington, State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher said the US is willing to join West African nations in stabilising Liberia, but said "decisions on the exact form of our participation and support are not yet made".
Bush "has not yet decided to authorise US military forces," he said, adding that "our participation will be worked out with the West Africans and the United Nations".
The arrival of the 32 experts follows the breakthrough announcement on Sunday that Taylor had accepted an offer of "safe haven" from Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
But the embattled leader gave no indication when he would leave and insisted on an "orderly exit from power" to prevent "chaos and disruption".
The Liberian president has been indicted for war crimes by a UN-backed court in Sierra Leone for his alleged role in that country's decade-long civil war which killed some 250 000 people.
He is also under UN sanctions, including an arms embargo, for his perceived role in that war and is accused of dealing in "blood diamonds" mined by the former Sierra Leonean rebels.
Yesterday, the spokesperson for the UN-backed Special Court said Taylor would not be immune from the charges even if he went into exile in Nigeria.
"No nation can remove the indictment of Charles Taylor. Anyone who prevents Taylor from facing justice will have to answer to the people across west Africa whom he has victimised," Tom Perello said.
"The struggle for justice will continue for Taylor wherever he seeks asylum," he added.
Obasanjo, for his part, made it clear on Sunday that he would not brook pressure or condemnation for offering sanctuary to Taylor and stressed that the offer was made in the interest of peace.
Nigeria had despatched troops to Liberia and given asylum to two players in an earlier seven-year civil war, which was started by Taylor and ended with his election to power in 1997.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed Taylor's decision to step down and go into exile "in the interest of peace in his country", but indicated that war crimes charges would still have to be faced.
Meanwhile, a team of international monitors comprising officials from the 15-nation Ecowas west African regional grouping and representatives of the Liberian government and two rebel movements will start their work today, an official said. - Sapa-AFP.
The small group of experts arrived in Monrovia on a reconnaissance mission as President George W Bush - poised to leave for his first official tour of Africa - continued to mull whether to dispatch US peacekeepers to Liberia.
US Ambassador to Liberia John Blaney, who received the experts, said: "We'll take the team around to see different places where IDPs (internally displaced people) and refugees are.
We are greatly concerned by the humanitarian situation".
The team's leader Roger Coldiron said he was not in Monrovia in a military capacity, but there to "assess the security situation" and determine the humanitarian needs.
Hundreds of thousands of Liberians have in recent weeks fled fighting on the outskirts of the capital to seek refuge in the heart of Monrovia, where many are living rough, with little in the way of food and hygiene.
The American move drew a puzzled reaction from humanitarian workers on the ground.
"It's a little strange because a military team has come to evaluate humanitarian needs," Dominique Liengme from the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
Alain Kassa, the head of the Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) mission in Liberia, said the American experts would only be of use if they could ensure a "secure environment".
"If they have come to tell us what to do, as they have in some other places in the world, it's not worth the effort," he said.
But displaced Liberians sheltered near the US embassy welcomed the Americans and called for the hasty exit of Taylor.
As the first of the soldiers flew into the embassy by helicopter from neighbouring Sierra Leone, the crowds around the embassy cried "Welcome USA, welcome".
In Washington, State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher said the US is willing to join West African nations in stabilising Liberia, but said "decisions on the exact form of our participation and support are not yet made".
Bush "has not yet decided to authorise US military forces," he said, adding that "our participation will be worked out with the West Africans and the United Nations".
The arrival of the 32 experts follows the breakthrough announcement on Sunday that Taylor had accepted an offer of "safe haven" from Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
But the embattled leader gave no indication when he would leave and insisted on an "orderly exit from power" to prevent "chaos and disruption".
The Liberian president has been indicted for war crimes by a UN-backed court in Sierra Leone for his alleged role in that country's decade-long civil war which killed some 250 000 people.
He is also under UN sanctions, including an arms embargo, for his perceived role in that war and is accused of dealing in "blood diamonds" mined by the former Sierra Leonean rebels.
Yesterday, the spokesperson for the UN-backed Special Court said Taylor would not be immune from the charges even if he went into exile in Nigeria.
"No nation can remove the indictment of Charles Taylor. Anyone who prevents Taylor from facing justice will have to answer to the people across west Africa whom he has victimised," Tom Perello said.
"The struggle for justice will continue for Taylor wherever he seeks asylum," he added.
Obasanjo, for his part, made it clear on Sunday that he would not brook pressure or condemnation for offering sanctuary to Taylor and stressed that the offer was made in the interest of peace.
Nigeria had despatched troops to Liberia and given asylum to two players in an earlier seven-year civil war, which was started by Taylor and ended with his election to power in 1997.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed Taylor's decision to step down and go into exile "in the interest of peace in his country", but indicated that war crimes charges would still have to be faced.
Meanwhile, a team of international monitors comprising officials from the 15-nation Ecowas west African regional grouping and representatives of the Liberian government and two rebel movements will start their work today, an official said. - Sapa-AFP.
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