MONROVIA, Liberia — U.S. helicopters beat through the sky and Harrier jets roared over cheering crowds Thursday, heralding the arrival of American troops in this shellshocked capital.
By midafternoon, more than 200 Marines were creating checkpoints, opening bridges, preparing to repair the seaport and running off rebel fighters in the first American military intervention in Africa since 1992.
"We have been waiting and waiting for the Americans to come," James L. Porter Sr., a Liberian airplane mechanic, said as he watched nine U.S. helicopters land at Roberts International Airport on Thursday morning. Troops leaped from the aircraft and crouched in their ready positions.
"Now that they are here, we are all joy and happiness," he said.
But for many Liberians, the joy was tempered by the belief that it took too long for the troops to come ashore.
"We are happy to see the Marines coming to our country. The only problem we have is that they came very late," said George Sarba, 45, an exporter before all of his possessions were looted. "And the LURD [rebel group], they need to be disarmed right now, so we can be a gun-free society."
In recent months, Liberians have called on the U.S. to send troops to this country founded by freed American slaves in the 19th century. But Washington has insisted on playing a minimal role, supplying funds and acting in support of West African peacekeepers.
Troops from the Economic Community of West Africa's Mission in Liberia, or ECOMIL, also received a joyous welcome as they moved through the capital's northern district, Bushrod Island.
Fighters with the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, or LURD, continued to roam through Bushrod Island in over-packed cars, firing AK-47s skyward. They had promised to leave the area by noon so that peacekeepers would have an easy transition. Their failure to leave angered U.S. military officials.
As the deadline approached, Lt. Sue Ann Sandusky, the military attache at the American Embassy in Monrovia, confronted Sekou Fofana, LURD's top civilian official, at the New Bridge between the city core and the LURD-held sector. Rebel fighters were still flaunting rocket-propelled grenades along Monrovia's Freeport Street industrial strip, and LURD's leader, Maj. Gen. Abdulla Seyeah Sheriff, was late for the hand-over ceremony with U.S. Ambassador John W. Blaney.
