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Bush orders US troops to Liberia, rebels call truce
Monrovia, July 26: President George W. Bush ordered US troops to take up positions off Liberia as mortar bombs pounded Monrovia in fighting between the government and rebels that killed another 23 people and wounded some 200.
Monrovia, July 26: President George W. Bush ordered US troops to take up positions off Liberia as mortar bombs pounded Monrovia in fighting between the government and rebels that killed another 23 people and wounded some 200.
As Bush stepped up backing for a planned West African peacekeeping mission, the rebels declared an immediate ceasefire on Friday but vowed to defend positions after a day in which
shells struck schools packed with refugees and near a hospital.
A news agency correspondent in Monrovia said he could still hear mortar bombs slamming into the city and gunfire after the truce declaration, made on the eve of the anniversary on which freed American slaves founded Liberia in 1847 in the name of liberty. The rebels and forces loyal to President Charles Taylor have been battling for more than a week for control of the coastal capital as West African states discuss deploying peacekeepers.
But no date has been set and US officials said warships with American troops were seven to 10 days sailing time away.
Diplomats in the region said they believed Nigerian peacekeepers would arrive by the end of next week. ''We are deeply concerned the condition of the Liberian people is getting worse and worse and worse,'' Bush told reporters in Washington.
''Today I did order for our military in limited numbers to head into the area to help (the deployment of West African peacekeepers) to relieve human suffering,'' Bush said.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan kept up Washington's vagueness on whether it planned to put combat troops on the ground in Liberia. ''We'll continue to assess what the US role is in supporting (West African peacekeepers),'' he said. Bureau Report
A news agency correspondent in Monrovia said he could still hear mortar bombs slamming into the city and gunfire after the truce declaration, made on the eve of the anniversary on which freed American slaves founded Liberia in 1847 in the name of liberty. The rebels and forces loyal to President Charles Taylor have been battling for more than a week for control of the coastal capital as West African states discuss deploying peacekeepers.
But no date has been set and US officials said warships with American troops were seven to 10 days sailing time away.
Diplomats in the region said they believed Nigerian peacekeepers would arrive by the end of next week. ''We are deeply concerned the condition of the Liberian people is getting worse and worse and worse,'' Bush told reporters in Washington.
''Today I did order for our military in limited numbers to head into the area to help (the deployment of West African peacekeepers) to relieve human suffering,'' Bush said.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan kept up Washington's vagueness on whether it planned to put combat troops on the ground in Liberia. ''We'll continue to assess what the US role is in supporting (West African peacekeepers),'' he said. Bureau Report