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11 die in mortar attack
25/07/2003 11:55 - (SA)
Monrovia - At least 11 civilians were killed in an early-morning attack on Friday on the diplomatic quarter of Liberia's capital, Monrovia, where the United States embassy is situated.
At least a dozen mortar shells rained down on Mamba Point - where the British and French embassies are also located - hitting houses and sending projectiles into the nearby Atlantic.
Seven of the dead were among refugees who had crowded into a primary school.
"They are not fighting, they are finishing us," screamed Erica Soe, 20, as she looked at the bodies of seven of her companions in the grounds of the Newport primary school, where a shell exploded at around 07:30, just as many of the refugees were washing.
"I was just seated here, brushing my teeth. Then there was the explosion, then the dead bodies," she sobbed.
Dozens were killed on Monday in another mortar attack on Mamba Point, as rebels and forces loyal to President Charles Taylor battled for control of the city centre.
The US embassy in Monrovia was hit by at least two mortar shells during the attack.
A contingent of special forces from the US marines arrives on Monday to bolster protection at the embassy, where displaced Liberians and staff have gathered for security.
Hundreds of civilians have died in the week of renewed fighting in Monrovia between Taylor's men and the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy.
- AFX
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