Liberians Roam Streets of Capital as Small-Arms Fire Threatens Truce

Thousands of hungry, homeless people wandered the streets of Monrovia on Sunday, searching for food and shelter while shelling and small-arms fire threatened a flimsy truce.

All the shops and office buildings in the seaside capital have been looted and most of them destroyed since government troops and rebels began fighting earlier this month. More than 60,000 Monrovians have been left homeless by the gunfire and the pillaging that ensued.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military evacuated one more helicopter full of Americans on Sunday from Monrovia as an open-ended airlift plan continued with few U.S. citizens remaining in Liberia.

“We do not consider this evacuation to be over because we haven’t been able to get hold of every American and find out their intentions,” said a State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But no more evacuation flights out of Monrovia were immediately scheduled, according to the Pentagon. And only 18 government workers and Marines were left to guard the U.S. Embassy complex amid a tenuous cease-fire.

“It’s been a successful operation so far in terms of pulling people out,” said Lt. Col. Roger Kaplan, a Pentagon spokesman. “It’s a fairly stable situation for Americans. But I wouldn’t want to be a Liberian right now.”