Troops Arrive to Keep Peace in Liberia

Leaping from white U.N. helicopters into a torrential rain, heavily armed Nigerian peacekeepers arrived in Liberia on Monday, ending weeks of uncertainty over an international rescue mission and bringing hope to desperate civilians.

As the peacekeepers, dressed in camouflage and flak jackets, fanned out across the tarmac of Monrovia’s Robertsfield airport and crouched in defensive positions, a crowd of jubilant people overwhelmed security to welcome them. They shouted what has become a common slogan in war-weary Liberia: “No more war! We want peace!”

“I am very happy with the arrival of the peacekeepers because this will ease the tension and bring some relief to us Liberians,” said one of those who came to the airport, 33-year-old Eric Kanwie. “We are in very desperate need of them.”

While fighting continued in Monrovia, the peacekeepers remained at the airport, awaiting equipment. Both the government and rebels said they welcomed their arrival. More than 1,000 civilians have been killed in two months of fighting, which has forced hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee the suburbs into Monrovia and has caused critical shortages of food and water. Disease is rampant.

It was unclear when the soldiers would head into the heart of Monrovia, about 30 miles away. At least one armored personnel carrier with mounted machine guns was flown in with the Nigerian troops, but military officials said peacekeepers would not begin their mission until artillery arrived.

The 198 soldiers who arrived Monday were the first contingent of a force that is expected to grow to as many as 15,000 troops. Their arrival is to pave the way for the departure of President Charles Taylor and to help end Liberia’s 14-year civil war. Taylor has pledged to step down next Monday.

Along the road between the airport and the capital was a grim reminder of the war’s toll. As the peacekeepers’ helicopters droned in the distance, gravediggers tossed 66 corpses -- some partially clothed, some naked -- into a hurriedly dug mass grave. The majority of the dead were victims of the fighting whose remains had been left unclaimed in the morgue at Monrovia’s main hospital.

As the mangled bodies were being unloaded from the belly of a large truck, residents stood pensively at the curb.

Mamie Queayker collapsed when she spotted the body of her 26-year-old husband, Henry Dubor. Friends quickly carried her from the grave site.

“I wanted to take his body to the funeral home,” said the 25-year-old widow, her voice breaking as she slumped onto a nearby grassy knoll after coming to. “But now.... “

At the United Nations, Hedi Annabi, assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, said that 850 troops should be deployed by Aug. 17.

Officials also have begun planning for the deployment of a larger force by Oct. 1. Annabi said the operation would be “sizable” and that it could include as many as 15,000 troops. But he said it was too early to give an exact number of troops or say if they could actually be deployed by Oct. 1.

The Bush administration has ordered three warships with Marines to stand ready in the Atlantic Ocean for deployment. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged the United States to commit troops to the peacekeeping mission in Liberia, which was founded in the 19th century by freed American slaves.

A senior U.S. official in Washington said Monday that U.S. troops were off the Liberian coast and ready to help with logistics and communications, and that some would probably go ashore.

U.S. Ambassador John Blaney, who was among American, Liberian and Nigerian officials at the airport, said the arrival of the Nigerians was “very significant.”

“This is a very positive step forward in terms of re-stabilizing Liberia,” Blaney said.

The White House has said that any deployment of U.S. troops would be contingent upon Taylor leaving his country.

The Liberian president, who has been indicted by an international war crimes tribunal for supporting insurgents in neighboring Sierra Leone, previously accepted an offer of asylum in Nigeria, but questions remain as to whether he actually will relinquish power and leave.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Oluyemi Adeniji flew to Monrovia on Monday to meet with Taylor. Associated Press quoted Nigerian officials as saying that Taylor assured them he would start preparing to leave Liberia as soon as he gives up power.

Taylor’s aides have said that he will seek to prove his innocence on the war crimes charges, but that he was not willing to defend himself in front of an international tribunal because he did not feel he could get a fair trial.

In Rome, Sekou Conneh, leader of the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, or LURD, promised to cooperate with the peacekeepers.

“They should be able to provide security for civilians, then we can withdraw,” Conneh, who was in Rome for talks with international mediators, said in a telephone interview.

Other rebel leaders said the crisis had entered its final stretch.

“This is the beginning of the end of Mr. Taylor and anarchy in Liberia,” said Gen. Joe Wylie, a LURD military advisor, who spoke from the Ghanaian capital, Accra, where he was participating in negotiations aimed at creating an interim Liberian government.

He said that Taylor’s departure was essential for any peace agreement to succeed.

“If he continues to stay on, he could be the cause for another round of fighting and confusion,” Wylie said. “It would be in his interest to leave, so people can live in peace.”

Residents of Monrovia hope that the West African peacekeepers can end the fighting and allow relief groups to start distributing aid.

“We will be so grateful,” said Florence Toh, 27, a mother of two who trekked to the airport to greet the peacekeepers.

Capt. Aliyu Jibril, commander of the first platoon of Nigerian troops to arrive from neighboring Sierra Leone, told reporters that his soldiers were ready for their assignment and felt an obligation to help.

“Liberia and Sierra Leone, this is our baby,” said Jibril, whose troops include rangers and commandos. “We are the elder brother to the West African countries.”

Jibril said that his soldiers would be allowed to fire to protect themselves and civilians if attacked, but he hoped this would not be necessary.

“I am not expecting any friction,” said Jibril, whose soldiers got first word of their deployment to Liberia three weeks ago. “There is supposed to be a cease-fire.”

Many of Jibril’s men served in Liberia when West African intervention troops first arrived here in 1990. Residents initially gave them a rapturous welcome. But many civilians later accused some peacekeepers of committing human rights abuses and perpetuating Liberia’s mayhem.

Jibril said he was confident that the experience would be different this time.

“Last time, the bulk of the job was left to the Nigerians alone,” the platoon commander said. “This time, our American brothers and the U.N. are supporting us.”

Staff writer Maggie Farley at the United Nations contributed to this report.