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'A lot of us are dying'
21/07/2003 22:10 - (SA)
Monrovia - The mortar barrage began as the streets were crowded with people taking advantage of a 12-hour lull in the shelling to try to find water and supplies, the BBC reported.
Many of the dead have been piled in front of the US embassy as a protest against lack of action by the United States, shortly after the arrival by helicopter of about 40 US soldiers to reinforce security there.
About 4 500 other marines and sailors have been ordered to the Mediterranean to be ready to intervene in Liberia.
The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called for urgent intervention by peacekeeping forces, saying Liberia was poised between hope and disaster.
President George W Bush earlier said the US was monitoring the situation very closely.
"We're concerned about our people in Liberia. We continue to monitor the situation very closely. We're working with the United Nations to effect policy necessary to get the ceasefire back in place," he said.
He also said the US was working with regional nations to determine when peacekeeping troops will be able to move into Liberia.
During more than an hour of continuous bombardment, mortars came in rapid succession sending people running for cover, the BBC's Paul Welsh in Monrovia says.
At least four were killed in a compound full of refugees opposite the US embassy, while another building full of refugees was apparently hit, killing 18, our correspondent says.
Another mortar shell hit a building of the embassy compound in Monrovia.
Twenty-seven dead have been taken to the main hospital, and there are reported to be hundreds of wounded.
Hundreds have taken shelter in UN buildings.
The rebels, who are seeking to overthrow President Charles Taylor, have denied in a BBC interview that they were responsible for the shelling.
Anger
The US soldiers were flown in from nearby Sierra Leone earlier on Monday.
The helicopters then carried foreign aid workers, including the UN's last seven foreign staff in the country, and journalists back to the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown.
US soldiers in Monrovia are to protect their own staff and people, but not to get involved in the battle that is taking place for the city between government troops and rebels.
Liberians have expressed frustration that the Americans should be sending troops just to protect their embassy.
One man told the BBC that if they are going to come here, they should come to help and stop the breakdown of the ceasefire that was in place.
"A lot of us are dying," he said.
There has also been widespread looting in government-held areas of Monrovia, with gunfire being heard and government militia targeting homes, businesses and vehicles.
Washington has called for an immediate ceasefire and wants President Taylor to step down.
Taylor has accepted an offer of asylum from Nigeria - but he refuses to stand down before the arrival of international peacekeepers.
Hampered aid
The continuing fighting is hampering humanitarian efforts to help injured and displaced civilians.
Doctors at two makeshift hospitals run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) say the recent shooting and mortar bombardment between government militias and rebel troops have made it nearly impossible to treat patients.
Aid agencies say their staff have been trapped indoors by the fighting and are unable to reach centres where thousands of people have gathered and are now living in appalling conditions.
The head of the MSF mission in Monrovia, Alain Kassa, said the intense fighting on Sunday made it difficult to transport the injured to hospital for treatment.
- News24
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