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Hundreds of thousands of Liberians cheered West African peacekeepers as they rumbled through the pockmarked capital Thursday, in an explosion of joy on streets that just last week formed a deadly frontline.
People lay down in front of the peacekeepers' armored personnel carriers, waved white flags and reached out to shake hands or even brush the boots of foreign soldiers many consider saviors after two weeks of bitter fighting.
Some people threw confetti made from torn-up leaves over the peacekeepers as they made their first trip through Monrovia since arriving in Liberia Monday.
The Nigerian soldiers blew kisses or gave 'V for victory' signs as they drove through the city, where last week mortar shells and stray bullets dealt sudden death to residents.
"It's beautiful, it's beautiful," said Nigerian Lieutenant-Colonel Amos Nudamajo.
As his war-weary people celebrated the arrivals, President Charles Taylor prepared to step down, saying he would hand over power to his vice president, Moses Blah, next Monday. He is then supposed to go into exile, but he has set no date yet.
Taylor has come under intense US pressure to leave Liberia, a country founded by freed American slaves in the 19th century. Thursday, Secretary of State Colin Powell said he expected Taylor to leave "in the very near future."
Peacekeepers flew to Monrovia after three rebel attacks on the coastal capital left at least 2,000 people dead and turned the city into a giant refugee camp with little food and water.
The West African troops have brought new hope to a land broken by 14 years of conflict that have destabilized the region and created a generation of drugged-up, brutal young fighters.
Welcome and Demands
"We want peace, no more war," the crowd chanted as a first convoy of three armored personnel carriers and two trucks rumbled into Monrovia's outskirts Thursday.
The guns have largely fallen silent in Monrovia since the peacekeepers, who now number more than 450, began arriving.
However, diplomatic sources said a plane carrying ammunition landed at the city's airport Wednesday and was ordered to leave by the Ecomil peacekeeping mission. It was not clear where the plane was from, or who ordered the ammunition.
A seven-strong US Marine team is also in Monrovia to work with the West Africans, but the United States has yet to decide if it will commit ground troops. US warships are anchored off Liberia's coast, with 2,300 Marines on board.
The peacekeepers' arrival in Liberia has paved the way for Taylor, who is wanted for war crimes by a UN-backed court in Sierra Leone, to leave. He had previously argued he needed to stay until foreign troops arrived to prevent anarchy.
Rebels say they will not pull back from Monrovia until their arch-enemy leaves the country.
Taylor, who has been offered asylum in Nigeria, formally told parliament that he would hand power to Blah next Monday, saying he was the victim of an "international conspiracy."
In a letter to the assembly, he said he had decided to sacrifice his presidency after "much soul-searching and prayerful consideration." He did not mention leaving Liberia.
"You have my assurance that as a patriotic Liberian I will remain available to offer my experience, talents, counsel and resources to assist in whatever way I am called upon," he wrote.
Parliament approved Taylor's choice of Blah, a friend from days of guerrilla training in Libya. Blah also comes from Nimba County, like many of Taylor's core fighting force, and this could help him keep volatile young fighters in check.
The peacekeepers face a tough task restoring order to a city teetering on the edge of a humanitarian disaster. The first urgent cries were already ringing out Thursday.
"I feel very good. Things are starting now," said a boy called Momo near the peacekeepers' base. "But we are starving, no food. We want them to go to the port now."
Rebels still hold the port, meaning food is extremely scarce in government-controlled areas and prices have rocketed.
After the street party for the peacekeepers, Monrovians were soon back on the hunt for something more substantial than hope.
Hundreds of hungry people shouting "We want eat, we want go" tried to force their way across a bridge into the rebel-held port but they were held back by police and militia fighters.
(China Daily August 8, 2003)
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