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Six die as shell hits church
27/07/2003 09:27 - (SA)
Monrovia - Six people died when a mortar shell landed on a church on Saturday in the besieged Liberian capital Monrovia, where tens of thousands of people have fled their homes to seek refuge in schools and stadiums.
Hundreds of people were sheltering in the church when the shell hit.
The United Nations World Food Programme estimated that 300 000 people have crowded into temporary shelters throughout Monrovia to seek refuge from fighting between government and rebel forces on the outskirts of Monrovia.
The UN High Commission on Refugees reported that food was running in short supply, and that one million residents were without clean water after a key water supply station was destroyed this week.
Most United Nations' international staff have been evacuated.
Witnesses said the six people were killed and about 20 injured. Other agency reports described the church as a gathering point for refugees, adding shelling in and around the church may have killed 15 people.
The shelling came despite promises made on Friday by the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) to observe a ceasefire.
US President George W Bush said on Friday he was sending troops and warships to the Liberian coast to assist in a peacekeeping mission promised by the Economic Community of West African States. But it could take weeks for the vessels moving out of the Mediterranean to be in place.
"We're deeply concerned that the condition of the Liberian people is getting worse," Bush said. "Aid can't get to the people. We're worried about the outbreak of disease."
The size and makeup of the force heading to the region remained unclear, but the Pentagon recently ordered an Amphibious Ready Group, led by the Iwo Jima, to sail to the region from the Mediterranean Sea.
Bush's order does not send US troops to Liberian soil, a move that the United States is reluctant to take unless Liberian President Charles Taylor fulfils promises to leave the country. Bush said on Friday that Taylor "must leave".
The first group of West African peacekeepers - about 1 400 Nigerian soldiers - was supposed to arrive by Wednesday.
In Washington, Bush's long-delayed decision to involve US troops was greeted with restrained enthusiasm by black legislators, who along with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan have been pushing for a speedier intervention.
"We appreciate that the president is finally saying something about Liberia," said Representative Maxine Waters, a leader of the Congressional Black Caucus. "But we are worried that it is not enough."
The fighting around Monrovia has raged daily for the past week, the third time in less than two months that the capital has come under attack by rebels trying to unseat President Charles Taylor. The death toll is estimated to be in the hundreds. - Sapa-DPA
- SAPA
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