In Monrovia, the main port capital of Liberia, dozens of police officers have been injured in a clash between rival police forces and seaport police. Twenty two police officers have been hospitalized and eighteen officers were seriously injured. The clash erupted when regular police officers went to the port on suspicious reports that seaport police were stealing fuel shipments.
At the port, the police director, Beatrice Munah Sieh, was taken hostage by the seaport police. Curious onlookers watched, as the sea police threw stones at the regular police reinforcements. Ultimately United Nation troops were able to end the fighting. Red trails of blood mark the ground where the violent clash took place.This clash is the first bloody battle between rival police forces since Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected to office last year promising to end corruption in Liberia.
Moreover, just recently, more than 3,500 officers have graduated from Liberia’s Police Academy. UN police have been supporting and mentoring members of the new LNP police force to ensure that Liberia’s security force is properly trained and will ensure citizen’s rights. The force was implemented to “improve the rule of law in the West African country and help the nation rehabilitate after more than a decade of brutal civil war.”
Currently, more than 15,000 UN peacekeepers are stationed in Liberia to try to alleviate destruction that resulted from a decade of civil war. Moreover, UN forces are trying to implement a peaceful return to stability and democracy in a region which was poorly damaged by ex-President Charles Taylor.
For more information, please see:
Independent – Dozens Injured in Brawl at Liberia Ports – 10 July 2007
BBC – Rival Liberia Police Forces Clash – 09 July 2007
UN News Centre – Liberia: Liberia And UN Mission Achieve Key Target in Police Recruitment – 09 July 2007
