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Politics : THE VAST RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (4055)	11/15/2003 1:37:31 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6358

.N. to Begin Disarming Liberian Fighters By JONATHAN PAYE-LAYLEH Associated Press Writer MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) -- Peacekeepers will start collecting weapons from Liberia's unruly militia and government fighters in early December, U.N. officials said Friday. The first three collection centers are scheduled to open Dec. 7 in Monrovia, the government-controlled capital of the war-ruined west African nation, and the rebel-held towns of Tubmanburg and Buchanan, the United Nations said in a statement. The disarmament process is expected to take nine months, the United Nations said "We do expect all factions to cooperate with the process," said Margaret Novicki, spokeswoman for the U.N. mission. An estimated 40,000 ill-trained and largely unpaid soldiers roam Liberia, a country destroyed by 14 years of near-constant civil war that is believed to have killed 250,000. Latest Africa News U.N. to Begin Disarming Liberian Fighters Swaziland's New Constitution on Hold Herders Hope Camel Cheese Rivals Cheddar Exiled Warlord Taylor Is a Wanted Man U.N. Mission Extended in Ivory Coast Interactive Liberia: A Nation Torn Asunder Latest News U.N. to Begin Disarming Liberian Fighters U.S. Opposes Sanctions Against Nigeria U.S. Opposes Sanctions Against Nigeria Ex-U.S. Top Cop Overhauls Liberia Police An Aug. 18 peace deal ended the latest round of fighting, but U.N. officials and Liberians say collecting the guns and destroying them is crucial to lasting peace. Participants will be given an initial payment of $150 for their weapons and three weeks of medical tests and counseling, the United Nations said. They will receive another $150 stipend as they re-enter society. Special programs have been designed to help the estimated 15,000 child soldiers, as well as female fighters and the wounded. After all fighters are disarmed, U.N. forces will start to rebuild the country's armed forces - notorious for preying on civilians, killing, raping, kidnapping and looting. Ousted President Charles Taylor, then a warlord, launched Liberia into crisis with his 1991-1996 insurgency. He won elections in 1997 and rebels took up arms against him two years later. As rebels this year attacked Taylor's capital, he fled into exile in Nigeria on Aug. 11. Some 4,500 peacekeeping soldiers - mostly from West Africa - have imposed calm in Monrovia, but skirmishes have continued in the countryside. Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved.