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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
LIBERIA: Nine shot dead in Monrovia riots
MONROVIA, 10 December 2003 (IRIN) - Eight bodies of former Liberian government fighters shot during three days of rioting by hundreds of militias demanding money in exchange for their guns, lay scattered around the eastern Monrovia suburb of Paynesville on Wednesday morning.
Eyewitnesses who showed IRIN the bodies said that the eight died in an exchange of gunfire with another group of militias late on Tuesday night while attempting to loot a store owned by a Lebanese national.
State radio quoting eyewitnesses said that some fighters shot and killed an unidentified middle-age woman in the city centre. The fighters reportedly made away with her vehicle.
Residents of the capital kept a low profile as the rioting militias continued to drive around in stolen vehicles. A few shots rung out in several suburbs on Wednesday morning, but the United Nation Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) stepped up patrols and reinforced checkpoints with armored cars around Monrovia.
With quiet returning to Monrovia on Wednesday, the streets were being cleared in the afternoon while UN trucks resumed picking up fighters to take them to the cantonment site at Camp Scheifflin, 56 km southeast of the city.
The militias started rioting after the start of disarmament on Sunday. Angry that they were not given cash in exchange for their guns, the fighters fired sporadically into the air, looted shops and set off panic, especially across the eastern suburbs of Paynesville and Sinkor.
The UN said at least 2,000 former government soldiers had turned in their weapons before the violence started "but a spate of banditry, looting of humanitarian supplies and random shooting by ex-combatants seeking immediate payment of a stipend have marred the process."
Jacques Klein, the UN Secretary General's envoy in Liberia, said in a statement: "It is unfortunate that a small criminal element has attempted to disrupt what is a major international effort to bring peace, security and stability to the Liberian people."
The rowdy fighters continued their rampage on Tuesday, looting shops and damaging vehicles, including the official vehicle of the Nigerian ambassador to Liberia.
Several relief agencies cancelled missions out of Monrovia. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) cancelled two missions to Zwedru and Harper, near the border with Cote d'Ivoire, and put on hold a relocation of internally displaced people from public buildings in Margibi County, a spokesman said.
The angry former fighters said they expected to immediately receive an initial $150 out of $300 per fighter as part of the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration package.
But that initial amount was actually supposed to be paid at the end of a three-week demobilization program and another $150 once the combatants were integrated back into their community.
As the riots spread, UNMIL announced it would immediately pay $75 to each fighter and the rest later.
Liberia's transitional leader, Gyude Bryant announced a 20.00 GMT to 0630 GMT curfew in Monrovia in a 10-minute radio address on the Roman Catholic church-owned Radio Veritas.
"Government views this disruptive actions on the part of some combatants as unfortunate, unnecessary and unacceptable...Anyone caught loitering around will be arrested and prosecuted according to law," Bryant said.
Despite the curfew however the fighters continued firing into the air randomly overnight and looting properties, residents of Paynesville told IRIN.
UNMIL Deputy Force Commander Major General Jo Owonbi told reporters on Wednesday that the peacekeeping force, which has only 5,000 troops out of an authorized strength of 15,000 in the country, had not received any report of causalities.
The disarmament exercise targets about 40,000 former Liberian government and rebel fighters of the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) and Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).
MODEL has agreed to fully cooperate in the disarmament but the LURD have expressed misgivings saying they will not disarm until they are given a share of jobs they were promised under a peace accord signed in Accra, Ghana on 18 August.
Apart from Scheifflein, two additional cantonment sites are to be opened. One will be in Buchanan for MODEL combatants and the other in Gbarnga for LURD combatants. UNMIL aims to set up upto 10 cantonment camps once it has more troops deployed around the country.
Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict
[ENDS]
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