U.S. Arranging Airlift for Americans in Liberia

Rebel troops continued to bear down on the Liberian capital Wednesday, and U.S. officials said they are arranging special flights to evacuate Americans.

The flights, to begin Saturday, will allow several hundred American citizens to leave Liberia because of the deteriorating situation, U.S. officials in Washington said.

The State Department is strongly urging the estimated 2,000 Americans in this West African nation to leave.

Several miles off Monrovia, four U.S. warships with 2,000 Marines aboard remained poised for a fourth day to evacuate Americans and other foreigners, U.S. officials said.

In response to a request from the Soviet Union, the United States has said it would be willing to include Soviet diplomats along with others in any evacuation, State Department deputy spokesman Richard Boucher said.

Officials said the State Department has been quietly asking several African countries whether they would be willing to provide President Samuel K. Doe with a safe haven if he is forced to flee.

In Washington, one Bush Administration official said Doe has asked for U.S. help. The official corrected his earlier statement that Doe had requested U.S. help to leave Liberia.

Diplomats in Monrovia said Doe had refused a U.S. offer of safe passage.

Doe took over the country of 2.5 million people in a bloody coup 10 years ago. The rebels, led by Charles Taylor, accuse his regime of corruption, economic mismanagement and human rights abuses.

The civil war has pitted Mandingos and Krahns, who support Doe, against Gio and Mano peoples, who back rebel leader Taylor. Troops supporting Doe, a Krahn, are accused of killing hundreds of rebel supporters.

Taylor’s rebels launched their invasion from eastern Nimba County, the homeland of Gios and Manos, and are reported to be within 30 miles of Monrovia. They have been within striking distance since reaching Robertsfield International Airport on Tuesday.

Taylor has outlined a future for Liberia under his rule that calls for democratic elections, free enterprise and a nonaligned foreign policy but with continued financial reliance on the United States and other Western countries.