Long-awaited West African peacekeepers swooped into Liberia by helicopter yesterday, as war-weary Liberians danced for joy in ruined streets on hopes of an end to 14 years of bloodshed.
Nigerian soldiers in flak jackets and helmets leapt out under driving rain at the international airport near the war-battered capital Monrovia, running to take up positions in the long grass around the cracked tarmac.
PHOTO: AFP
"We are very happy for them to be here, so that this war can come to an end," army chief of staff General Benjamin Yeaten said. "Liberians are very tired of war. Civilians are dying every day."
In Rome, rebel leader Sekou Conneh, whose forces control Monrovia's vital port, said his fighters would withdraw the minute the Nigerians moved in. He demanded again that President Charles Taylor leave the country as soon as possible.
Some rebels danced behind their frontline to celebrate the coming of peacekeepers to a city enjoying its quietest day after more than two weeks of street battles. However, fighting continued in the second city of Buchanan.
Defense Minister Daniel Chea urged the international community to put pressure on the rebels to respect a June 17 ceasefire, which has never been more than a dead letter.
Starved of food, short of clean water and sheltering wherever they can, Liberians were jubilant at the arrival of peacekeepers they hope will quickly end the open warfare and allow humanitarian aid to start flowing again.
Liberians on both sides of the frontline celebrated, some sporting T-shirts with "Thank God for Ecomil" (the peacekeeping force) and a picture of the Liberian Lone Star flag. The back bore a wishful slogan: "Peace at last."
"If they stay for the next 50 years, no problem. I just want to sleep soundly. There will be no mixed reaction, all Liberians want peace," said airport worker Kerdial Johnson.
Three attacks on Monrovia by the rebels of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) since the start of June have killed around 2,000 people dead and wounded thousands more.
LURD leader Conneh, whose forces are camped just the other side of two bridges leading to the city center from the port and sprawling suburbs, said his troops would pull out of Monrovia the minute the peacekeepers moved in.
"We don't want to pull back if the peacekeepers are not there and the civilians will get attacked by Taylor's forces ... so that is why we are taking our time," Conneh said.
Another LURD official said the rebels would only pull out once the peacekeepers arrived in territory they control.
Taylor pledged on Saturday to resign on Aug. 11 and leave the country afterwards, in line with calls by the US and the Economic Community of West African States. But no deadline has been given for his departure.
US Ambassador John Blaney said Washington had yet to decide whether to send in Marines aboard US warships heading for the coastal waters of Liberia, a country founded in the 19th century by freed American slaves.
Monday's arrivals were the first wave of an expected 1,500 Nigerian troops, who had been part of a UN force in Sierra Leone. Diplomats said a second batch of 300 was due in tomorrow with the rest following soon afterwards.
The Nigerians are expected to camp at the airport for a few days then move to central Monrovia, some 45km away.
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