Rebels urge peace in war-torn Monrovia
April 14, 1996
Web posted at: 6:50 p.m. EDT (2250 GMT)MONROVIA, Liberia (CNN) -- The faction at the center of unrest in Monrovia called for a truce Sunday and asked peacekeepers to take control of the capital, wracked by a week of killing and looting.
Fighting broke out in the coastal capital last Saturday after forces of Liberia's transitional ruling coalition attempted to arrest rebel warlord Gen. Roosevelt Johnson on murder charges.
Johnson loyalists belonging to the ULIMO-J faction, under siege in a cholera-infested military barracks, issued a statement Sunday calling for African peacekeepers to move in and rival militias to withdraw from the streets. The statement also said Johnson, who has been in hiding since fighting broke out, is willing to talk with regional mediators.
Rival factions continued to shell the barracks where the rebels are hiding. There were no reports of injuries, although at least seven people have reportedly died of cholera in the past two days.
Johnson's followers are believed to be holding at least 37 peacekeepers and others hostages in the barracks, where another 25,000 Liberians have sought refuge.
First phase of U.S. evacuations complete
Some 1,900 people have fled the Liberian capital since Tuesday, including about 375 U.S. citizens. Most of those evacuated were diplomats, aid workers and Liberians fleeing possible political persecution.
The United States halted its evacuations Sunday morning but said the rescue operations would resume if necessary. A U.S. Marine amphibious group is due to arrive in about a week to help ferry others to safety if needed.
Another 20,000 refugees are still hiding at the U.S. embassy complex in Mambo Point, Monrovia's posh residential district.
U.S. Ambassador William Milam said the United States will maintain a presence in Liberia.
"We have no plans to pull out of here," he said. "We intend to stay and be active in the peace process, and at the same time attend (to) the humanitarian concerns we have as a result of the violence." (390K AIFF sound or 390K WAV sound)
On Sunday a U.N. convoy brought 20 tons of food to the embassy complex, the first time food has made it through to the refugees since fighting broke out.
Shaky cease-fire holding
Notwithstanding sporadic gunfire and shelling of the barracks where the rebel force is hiding, the tenuous cease-fire reached Friday appeared to be holding as Nigerian-led peacekeeping forces cautiously began taking back city streets in Monrovia.
While armed thugs continued to race through the streets in stolen vehicles, brandishing AK-47s and grenades, they no longer appeared to be menacing civilians now that most of the shops have been looted.
Local Red Cross workers began clearing dozens of bodies from the streets.
A hotel owner in Mambo Point was critical of the apparent timidity of the peacekeeping force, also known as ECOMOG.
"So far ECOMOG is on the streets, but they are not really talking to any of the armed militiamen. They are just looking at them going back and forth," he said. " We are hoping that things will be under control."
Liberia was founded by freed American slaves in 1847. Before the latest round of violence, Liberia had experienced relative calm as negotiators tried to end the civil war, which has claimed more than 150,000 lives since 1990.
CNN Correspondent Bob Coen, WTN, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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- Fingers are crossed that Monrovian cease-fire lasts - April 13
- Fighting escalates in chaotic Monrovia - April 12
- Liberian looting endangers food supplies - April 12
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