Some 800 Liberian fighters have disarmed voluntarily in a sign of progress towards ending almost 14 years of civil war in the West African state, UN officials said today.
In a separate drive to cement an August peace deal, United Nations peacekeepers brought two militia leaders called Peanut Butter and Tamba to the capital Monrovia to try and resolve a dispute that has triggered clashes in the volatile north.
The UN peacekeeping force plans to launch a programme on December 7th to start disarming an estimated 40,000 combatants, widely regarded as the best way to break a long cycle of violence that has destabilised the region.
"The people of Liberia are tired of war and we want everything to be done in the interest of peace," Souren Seraydarian, the UN deputy special representative to Liberia, told a news conference. "Eight hundred combatants have disarmed so far voluntarily and 280 weapons, mainly RPGs, AK-47 rifles, grenades and mortars were brought."
The fighters were mainly members of government forces commanded by former President Charles Taylor who went into exile in Nigeria in August.
The government and rebels signed a peace deal on August 18th under which they agreed to restructure the army to include rebel fighters and disband all irregular forces. A power-sharing government was set up to guide the country to elections.
Under the nine-month UN disarmament programme, combatants handing in their arms will receive grants totalling $300 and training to help them find jobs, a daunting task in the impoverished country.
The UN peacekeeping force is due to eventually number 15,000, including Irish troops, but so far consists of some 4,700 mainly West African soldiers confined to protecting Monrovia.