MONROVIA, June 19 — Thousands of Ghanaians tried to push their way onto a ship sent to evacuate them from Liberia on Thursday, saying they were too afraid to stay despite a ceasefire.
Security guards fired in the air and used water hoses to try to hold back a crowd of 5,000 people trying to breach a barrier of heavy metal containers around the port.
People threw babies over a two-meter high wall to be caught on the other side or jumped from the pier into the sea.
There were only 1,000 places on the ship, the second to be sent by Ghana’s government. Liberians hoping to escape were also among the crowd.
The truce, signed by rebels and President Charles Taylor’s government on Tuesday, has been welcomed as a first step towards ending almost 14 years of war that have spread chaos in West Africa by creating a roaming band of ruthless fighters.
But residents of Monrovia — a city already traumatised by a seven-year civil war in the 1990s — are taking no chances.
”I’m happy, I’m happy, I’m going back to Ghana,” one man shouted as he walked up the gangway.
The truce has offered some respite to Monrovia, where up to one million people were displaced by a rebel attack this month.
Diplomats said a U.S. assault ship which was sent to the waters off the coastal capital with 3,000 Marines and sailors aboard was due to leave soon as the situation stabilised.
Hundreds of Westerners have already been evacuated from the city.
Source: GhanaWeb
