Military

DATE=9/6/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-307220

TITLE=LIBERIA/U-N PEACEKEEPERS (L-O)

BYLINE=SARAH SIMPSON

DATELINE=ABIDJAN

CONTENT:

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Officials of the West African peacekeeping force in Liberia say that deployment of troops beyond the capital is going ahead. On Friday, the U-N special representative to Liberia, Jacques Klein, said that it would take a 15-thousand-strong international peacekeeping force to restore stability throughout Liberia. Sarah Simpson reports from V-O-A's West Africa bureau in Abidjan.

TEXT: Five hundred peacekeepers are moving to the north-central town of Kakata. They are the first troops to establish a substantial presence outside of the capital Monrovia since peacekeeping forces began arriving in Liberia at the beginning of August.

The area around Kakata has been one of the most volatile in the country over the last few weeks. Thousands of civilians have fled camps in the area, frightened by the approach of real or rumored fighting.

There are currently three thousand west African peacekeepers in Liberia. The force is due to reach its full capacity of three thousand 500 by the middle of next week.

But this is far below the number needed to restore stability throughout the lawless countryside. According to Jacques Klein, the U-N special representative to Liberia, an international peacekeeping force of at least 15 thousand troops is needed. If approved, a force of this size would be the largest U-N-mandated peacekeeping operation in the world.

Such large peacekeeping missions have been seen in the region before. At its height, the U-N peacekeeping mission in neighboring Sierra Leone was made up of more than 17 thousand troops and was widely applauded for securing the end of a similarly protracted civil war.

While the peacekeeping operation continues its advance, Jacques Klein said he was looking into allegations of embezzlement against exiled former president, Charles Taylor. According to Mr. Klein, latest reports show that Mr. Taylor left Liberia with three million U-S dollars meant for a disarmament program.

Charles Taylor, the one-time rebel leader who cemented his power through the ballot box, has already been indicted for war crimes in neighboring Sierra Leone. (SIGNED)

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