Bush Likely to Decide Soon on US Deployment in Liberia: Powell

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, July 11, 2003

Bush Likely to Decide Soon on US Deployment in Liberia: Powell

US President George W. Bush would decide within days on America's military role in Liberia, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday.

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US President George W. Bush would decide within days on America's military role in Liberia, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday.

Any move will be "very limited in duration and scope" and peacekeeping forces from west African countries should lead the way into Liberia, Powell said in Pretoria, the South African PressAssociation reported.

Bush, on his five-day trip through Africa, ordered last Friday to send the military experts' group to Liberia to evaluate the need for a force, though Washington has not committed to sending apeacekeeping force to the west African country.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had approved the setting up of a 3,000-strong force for Liberia and called on the United States, South Africa and Morocco to provide the extra troops to make it up to 5,000.

Currently Liberian President Charles Taylor agreed to step down,saying that he had agreed in principle to leave the country and gointo exile in Nigeria only when international peacekeepers are in place.

The renewed fighting which broke out in late June between the Liberian government troops and rebels had left some 700 people dead and over 1,000 others injured.

The Liberian civil war, which lasted about 14 years and claimedat least 200,000 lives, flared up again in 1998 following attacks launched by the main rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy in northern Liberia.

Civil war over the past decade has made Liberia among the most miserable places in the world and the latest unrest since 1998 hasforced some 300,000 Liberians to flee to neighboring countries andclaimed thousands more lives.

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