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Thousands cheer U.S. troops in LiberiaRebels hand over Monrovia port to peacekeepers
MONROVIA, Liberia (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of Liberians clapped and cheered Thursday as helicopters carrying U.S. troops landed at Monrovia's Roberts International Airport to help stabilize the nation. Not long after the first U.S. CH-46 chopper arrived, a general from the major rebel group -- Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) -- and Brig. Gen. Festus Okonkwo, the Nigerian commander of the West African peacekeeping force ECOMIL, met briefly on a contested bridge for a short ceremony to begin the rebels' handover of the seaport to peacekeepers. A second rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia, or MODEL, was about 30 miles east of the airport. Its plans were unclear. Thousands of Liberians poured over the bridge for the first time in two months, looking for loved ones. Monrovia's port area had been heavily ravaged on Wednesday, as looters stripped it of stocks of food aid, furniture, vehicles and gasoline. (On the Scene: CNN's Jeff Koinange, Gallery: Looting in Monrovia) More than 100 U.S. troops -- mostly Marines -- arrived Thursday morning. More were expected to arrive later in the day. The troops quickly secured the perimeter of the airport and occupied the northern part of the terminal to begin setting up a base of operations. (Gallery: U.S. Marines arrive at airport, On the Scene: CNN's Jeff Koinange) About two dozen U.S. communications and engineering specialists will assess the port, and a team of 10-12 Navy SEALS will clear the port to make way for humanitarian aid, Lt. Gen. Norton Schwartz, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CNN in Washington. Schwartz said U.S. forces would help the Nigerian peacekeepers move from the airport to secure the port. Helicopters and other aircraft, such as Harrier jets, will provide aerial support. The U.S. reaction force is expected to be in place for only a few days until a second battalion of Nigerian peacekeepers arrives later this week. "At that point, the reaction force will depart," Schwartz said. U.S. Ambassador to Liberia John Blaney expressed optimism shortly before the U.S. forces arrived. "I feel good today. I think this is going to be a very important step to help the people of Liberia," Blaney said. "As President Bush has said and underlined, we want to help those who are suffering here -- and there are quite a number of them -- and by working with ECOMIL, we are going to make it happen." "With the good news of the port opening, we hope to get food distribution going in a couple of days, but there's so many other issues to address, particularly the state of health of people and a lot of people affected by the war," said U.N. Deputy Relief Coordinator Carolyn McAskie. A ship loaded with food and supplies is docked in neighboring Sierra Leone, awaiting word that Monrovia's port has been reopened. The port is Monrovia's chief entry point for desperately needed humanitarian aid, which came to a quick halt in June as the rebels launched fresh attacks against Taylor's government and aid workers fled.
Also Thursday, Liberia's new president, Moses Blah, is scheduled to travel to Accra, Ghana, to discuss peace efforts with Liberian rebel leaders, government officials said. (Profile: Moses Blah, CNN Access: Taylor interview) After taking office earlier this week, Blah offered to share power with the rebels, whose efforts to force former Liberian President Charles Taylor into exile succeeded Monday. He promised to make progress toward ending the civil war. Fourteen years of war have created a massive humanitarian crisis, with 1.3 million of the country's 3.2 million population being uprooted from their homes. More than 250,000 people, half of them civilians, were killed in the war, according to U.N. figures. CNN correspondents Jeff Koinange and Gaven Morris contributed to this report.
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