Hungry Liberians Storm Port as U.S. Jets Awaited

Reuters ^ | 08-13-03

[Brian S]

Wed August 13, 2003 10:07 AM ET By Clar Ni Chonghaile

MONROVIA, Liberia (Reuters) - Hungry Liberians stormed into Monrovia's port to grab food Wednesday as rebel fighters packed up to hand it over to U.S.-backed West African peacekeepers and pull out of the battered capital.

New President Moses Blah said fighter planes from a floating U.S. task force would soon start patrols to help bring peace, after the flight into exile of pariah leader Charles Taylor raised hopes of an end to nearly 14 years of strife.

The rebels have promised to pull out of the port Thursday to allow food shipments to hundreds of thousands of famished people in a city where recent fighting left 2,000 dead.

But hundreds of people could not wait.

Men, women and children scrambled through containers and ripped open sacks in a frantic search for any aid stocks still left. Rebels fired shots in the air to halt the chaos, panicking looters for cover with bags of cornmeal on their heads.

"They are hungry. We can't stop them taking food that was brought for them and not distributed. We are going tomorrow. We are packing little by little," said rebel official Sekou Fofana.

Civilians have been the main victims of untrained young fighters on both sides, who delight in murder, rape and pillage and are still dug in along the front line cutting through a city where the smell of death lingers.

Liberians would love to see U.S. troops intervene in a country founded by freed American slaves but Washington is wary of any deep involvement. Memories are still sharp of the bloody U.S. debacle in Somalia a decade ago.

U.S. JETS EXPECTED

Blah said after a meeting with the U.S. ambassador that fighter jets would soon start patrolling the skies.

Three U.S. warships are anchored off the capital Monrovia with a 2,300-strong Marine task force. So far, Washington has said the only prospect for intervention would be small groups of Marines -- maybe five or six-strong -- to help with aid.

A senior United Nations humanitarian official, who arrived to help coordinate relief for the war-wrecked city, said the U.N. was looking at a two-year plan to rebuild Liberia.

"The situation on the ground is very desperate here in Monrovia," Carolyn McAskie told Reuters. "We are very concerned about the large number of displaced people but also the people in their homes who have no access to food."

Fresh fighting by another rebel group near the second city of Buchanan Tuesday came as a grim reminder that Taylor's departure would not mean instant peace. Peacekeepers rolled out of town to head off any further advance.

Taylor, an ex-warlord accused of stirring regional conflict and wanted by a U.N.-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone has begun exile life in Nigeria's southeastern city of Calabar.

Blah, his former deputy, is scheduled to step down in October for an interim leader to guide Liberia to the first elections since Taylor was elected in 1997 after a first round of war left 200,000 dead.

Blah has offered the rebels the vice-president's job as an olive branch to reunited the country.

But the rebels say he is just another of Taylor's old cronies and doubts remain over exactly how and when Liberia's bitterly divided warring factions and politicians will pick a replacement at ongoing discussions in Ghana.

[anniegetyourgun]

I saw the pictures of many Liberians standing on the shores looking out at the U.S. military ships in the distance. I don't recall any one of them looking emaciated. In fact, one of them was a very large (fat) woman. Perhaps they were not representative of the general population because they have waterfront property.

[KantianBurke]

"Liberians would love to see U.S. troops intervene"

And I'd love for my next door neighbor to mow my lawn. Having other people take care of your problems sure is kewl!

[MD_Willington_1976]

I dont understand how people that have access to the ocean can starve..are they too damn lazy to get food out of the ocean ?...they must be, cause now their eyes are buggin out of their heads cause the hand outs are coming...