Bangladesh, Namibia Pledge Liberia Troops
Aug 8,11:36 PM ET AP UNITED NATIONS - Bangladesh and Namibia agreed to contribute more than 5,000 troops for a United Nations peacekeeping force for Liberia (news - web sites), U.N. officials and diplomats said Friday.
The U.N. force will replace a West African force that has already begun deploying to Liberia.
The U.N. Security Council ordered the U.N. force to replace the multinational contingent by Oct. 1, but the proposal given to potential troop-contributing nations at a closed-door meeting Thursday calls for U.N. peacekeepers to start deploying on Nov. 1.
Rape Surges Amid Anarchy in Liberia
AP MONROVIA, Liberia - Clutching her daughter's photograph to her breast, Rebecca throws back her head and wails. Gunmen burst into her home and raped the child on her 10th birthday, leaving her lying in a pool of blood and vomit — dead.
Every time fighting surges in Liberia (news - web sites), women are raped, aid workers say. But this time, the scale is incalculable. Wild-eyed men are going door to door, ransacking homes, beating and killing people, and raping any women — or girls — they find.
Both sides in the battle are implicated — the fighters of warlord President Charles Taylor, as well as the rebels trying to overthrow him. Women used to be most at risk fleeing through the bush, aid workers say. Now they are not safe in their homes either.