United Nation Mission in Liberia – extended till 2011
01.01.2010
On 16 September 2009 the UN Security Council took the decision to extend the UN peacekeeping mission (UNMIL) to assist with the planned 2011 presidential and legislative elections. This aroused a mixed reaction among the Liberian citizens.
“Without UNMIL there would be problems for Liberia,” says Augustin William, an electrician in the capital Monrovia. “It is not feasible for the mission to leave now because that would risk another round of conflict.”Another Monrovian citizen, said: “Security is not yet in place. Some parts of the army are not functional…Liberian forces and UNMIL still need to train the national army and police and deploy more of them at borders before UNMIL can move on.” But newspaper seller Wilson Denis said he is ready to see UNMIL leave. “It’s not necessary for UNMIL to be here because they are no longer doing much…. When there is violence they don’t go to the scene; they ask the Liberian national police to respond instead.”
liberia (1) -- Analyses -- 2010
About the Mission
01.01.2010
UNMIL was set up in 2003 to bolster a ceasefire agreement ending a war that killed some 150,000 Liberians and displaced 850,000.
UNMIL staff have been providing security at strategic government sites, helping the government restructure its police and military forces and developing a police training programme, among other duties. .
UNMIL’s troop strength will remain at 8,000 until the 2011 elections after which the exit will accelerate, according to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
At the height of the mission in March 2006, some 15,000 UN troops were deployed throughout the country.
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