Monrovia, July 07: A team of US military experts arrived today in the Liberian capital Monrovia amid international pressure for Washington to lead a peacekeeping force to the war-wracked West African nation. Thirteen members of a 32-strong team arrived from the Sierra Leone capital Freetown on board a Russian-built MI-8 helicopter that landed inside the US Embassy enclosure, where they were met by US ambassador John Blaney.
They all wore bullet-proof vests.
The soldiers are part of a team which left the US naval base at Rota in southern Spain in the early hours today on a mission to assess "the situation and determine whether further humanitarian assistance is required" in Liberia, Lieutenant Corey Baker had told from Madrid.
"We'll take the team around to see different places where IDPs (internally displaced people) and refugees are. We are greatly concerned by the humanitarian situation," ambassador Blaney said.
Among the 13 members who had arrived, one was a civilian who works for the office of federal disaster and relief assistance, Blaney said.
Captain Roger Coldiron, the team's leader, said: "the rest of the team will be here today if the weather continues to cooperate."
He said: "I am not here to assess the military situation but I will assess the security situation" and determine humanitarian needs.
"We want that whoever will come will have a safe working environment," Coldiron added. Bureau Report