LIBERIA: Nigerian peacekeepers rolled into battle-scarred Monrovia to a roaring reception from ecstatic Liberians yesterday, raising hopes that the city's suffocating siege is finally over. Declan Walsh reports.
Hundreds of thousands of rejoicing people flooded out to give a heroes' welcome to grinning Nigerian soldiers who flashed victory signs from an armoured convoy trundling down the bullet-pocked streets.
The line of armoured carriers, jeeps and trucks passed by the congress building where legislators were quietly accepting President Charles Taylor's formal resignation letter.
Mr Taylor, an indicted war criminal who has promised to resign on Monday, blamed an "international conspiracy" for his downfall.
He told CNN he would hand power to Vice President Moses Blah but did not specify when he would leave the country. His economics minister said in London that he could depart "sooner than expected".
On the streets outside, joyous Liberians flung themselves before Nigerian armoured personnel carriers. Others reached out to brush the boots of soldiers, who blew them kisses.
"It's beautiful, it's beautiful," said Nigerian Lieut Col Amos Nudamajo.
Some 3,250 west African troops with the rescue mission, known as Ecomil, are expected to arrive by month's end.
"We are tired of dying. We want peace in our country," said student Danish Gbawoquiya, holding an upside down sign that read "Ecomil we love you". The deployment has halted a relentless, two-month rebel offensive on the seaport capital. The attack has cornered Mr Taylor but also killed over 1,000 civilians and sparked a massive humanitarian crisis.
Despite the peacekeepers' presence, exorbitant fuel and food prices are strangling the city, clean water is rare and disease epidemics continue to threaten.
There were small signs yesterday that the city centre, largely deserted during two weeks of shelling and stray gunfire, has slowly returned to life.
Some residents trickled home from refugee camps and a handful of shuttered shops opened their doors. But with the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebels still controlling the port, also known as the Freeport, the city remained famished.
"There are no more rockets, now we feel safer. But we are still hungry," said corner shopkeeper Goffa Manewal, returning to his ransacked business.
The peacekeepers hope to deploy into LURD territory in the coming days, which should open up the port to humanitarian deliveries. Just over 40 of Liberia's 90 representatives and senators turned up at the deserted congress building to rubber-stamp Mr Taylor's resignation.
In a letter read out in his absence, Mr Taylor blamed an "international conspiracy" that included UN arms sanctions for forcing him from office. "They have prevented me from carrying out my constitutional responsibility of defending the country and providing essential social services to the people," he said.
The congress, like many other public buildings in Monrovia, had been filleted by looters. Offices along the deserted corridors were stripped clean, carpets ripped up and electrical cabling hung from the broken ceiling.
After weeks of uncertainty, Mr Taylor's resignation seems almost certain. His chosen successor, Mr Blah, is a friend from his days of guerrilla training in Libya in the mid-1980s.
The crucial question now is whether he will flee into exile on Monday, as the LURD rebels are demanding. As ever, doubts hung over the wily president's intentions.
Mr Taylor is struggling to have a war crimes indictment, brought by the Special Court in neighbouring Sierra Leone, dropped before he leaves the country
Over 2,000 US soldiers remain stationed at American warships anchored about 100 miles off the Liberian coast. A team of marines is in Monrovia to liaise with the African mission.