Wed, Sep 10, 2003 - Page 7 News List

Liberian peace force ready to move in

TROOP DEPLOYMENT The first major push into the lawless interior was expected yesterday as thousands of families were getting ready to run

AP , MONROVIA

Dozens more are guarding the US embassy, and a 150-Marine rapid-reaction force has been stationed aboard warships off Liberia.

Over the weekend, the US military flew 32 sick Marines -- most from the quick-reaction force -- and one sailor from the USS Iwo Jima warship to medical centers in Germany and the US, the US European Command said in a statement.

Doctors confirmed at least 12 of the Marines contracted malaria, while test results were pending on the 21 remaining patients.

The quick reaction force was briefly deployed at a main airport outside Monrovia in August.

US officials said that as a precaution, movements of Marines ashore in Liberia from the Iwo Jima and two other US Navy ships off the coast were being limited.

Malaria, a mosquito-borne disease, infects 300 million people a year in Africa.

On Aug. 18, Liberia's government and rebels signed a peace deal arranging a power-sharing government to be installed on Oct. 14, leading to democratic elections in 2005.

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