George Bush yesterday bowed to international pressure and deployed US troops to the coast of Liberia in support of a west African peacekeeping mission in the war-torn country.
Shells, mortars and gunfire ripped through the Liberian capital on a seventh day of fighting, as rebels continued to press the forces of President Charles Taylor. More than two dozen people were killed and many more wounded by a mortar barrage near the US embassy in the capital, Monrovia.
Bush has faced loud calls from within Liberia and the international community to intervene. But he is wary of spreading the US army too thinly and engaging soldiers in another bloody, politically unattractive conflict from which retreat might prove difficult.
”We are deeply concerned the condition of the Liberian people is getting worse and worse and worse,” Bush said yesterday. ”Today, I did order our military, in limited numbers, to head into the area to help prepare the arrival [of African peacekeepers] to relieve human suffering.”
An amphibious assault group — including the helicopter carrier USS Iwo Jima, two other warships and 2 300 marines — is gathering in the Mediterranean. Pentagon sources said the president had ordered the group to sail to the coast of Liberia.
The US navy said yesterday that one of the three ships had yet to pass through the Suez canal. The Pentagon sources said the ships were seven to 10 days’ sailing time from Liberia. ”It takes about a week to get there,” one said.
The White House appeared to be keeping its options open. Bush stopped short of saying the troops would actively participate in the mission, and the White House has said it will not put troops on the ground until Taylor has gone and a ceasefire is in place.
The current plan is to provide logistics, communication and other non-combat support. With growing disquiet in the US as troops are killed in Iraq on a daily basis, the Pentagon stressed that this was a limited mission, with an exit plan. Talks are going on with the UN to ensure US peacekeepers will be replaced within four months.
In a written statement, the White House spokesperson, Scott McClellan, said: ”The US role will be limited in time and scope as multinational forces under the United Nations assume the responsibility for peacekeeping.”
The US has historical ties to Liberia, which was founded by former American slaves.
Yesterday’s fighting in Monrovia was concentrated near the fortified US embassy, causing casualties among the thousands of residents gathered in its vicinity for protection. Several children were among the dead after heavy shelling.
The government and the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy rebels blame each other for shelling residential areas.
Residents swarmed on to the streets after the main attack to plead for help from the US. Emmanuel Sieh (28) said: ”I want to tell George Bush to do something hurriedly, very fast … people are dying every day.”
More than 200 000 of the city’s residents are threatened by the violence and are cut off from clean water. Aid agencies say an outbreak of cholera is imminent, and urge the quick deployment of US forces.
The Nigerian force, to be bolstered by other African troops, is intended to establish a ”zone of separation” between the warring factions, providing a secure environment for relief agencies and preparing the way for a force of 3 000 to 5 000 peacekeepers by September 19. It is hoped the first Nigerian troops will arrive on August 2.
Liberia’s special envoy to the UN, Jacques Klein, said: ”We stand between two options: hope and disaster. Hope that we quickly move troops in, stop the killing, and stabilise the situation; disaster if nothing is done.” – Guardian Unlimited Â