Liberian soldiers opened fire on
residents of a slum in their country's capital city today after it was locked
down in an effort to contain the spread of Ebola virus.
According to DailyMail, people ran
screaming as soldiers from the country's Ebola Task Force brutally enforced a
quarantine of Monrovia's West Point district ordered by the country's president
last night.
See photos below:
The
chaos in Monrovia erupted after protesters surrounded the home of the West
Point's commissioner, Miatta Flowers, pictured below, blaming her for
the decision to turn their neighbourhood into an open-air isolation ward.
Soldiers carrying assault rifles lashed out at residents with telescopic truncheons and at least one man was shot as a security team moved in to evacuate Mrs. Flowers. A resident of the West Point district told the Associated Press by phone that security forces were firing into the air to disperse crowds angry over the quarantine measures.
Soldiers carrying assault rifles lashed out at residents with telescopic truncheons and at least one man was shot as a security team moved in to evacuate Mrs. Flowers. A resident of the West Point district told the Associated Press by phone that security forces were firing into the air to disperse crowds angry over the quarantine measures.
West
Point Commissioner Miata Flowers is escorted out of the slum by members of
Liberia's Ebola Task Force.
Some
relatives of Mrs Flowers are led away from the slum, which has been sealed off
by soldiers and police.
Over the weekend also, a mob
attacked and looted an Ebola screening centre, accusing officials of bringing
sick people from all over Monrovia into their neighbourhood. Dozens of people
waiting to be screened fled in the chaos. Looters made off with items,
including bloody sheets and mattresses that could further spread the virus.
In many areas of the capital,
meanwhile, dead bodies have been in the streets for hours, sometimes days, even
though residents asked that the corpses be picked up by health ministry workers
wearing protective gear.
Riot police and soldiers have now
sealed off West Point with makeshift barricades built from piles of wood and
barbed wire. Ferries to the area have been halted, and a coast guard boat
was patrolling the waters around the peninsula. At least 50,000 people live on
the half-mile-long point, which is one of the poorest and most densely
populated neighbourhoods of the capital. Sanitation is poor even in the best of
times, and defecation in the streets and beaches is a major problem. Mistrust
of authorities is rampant and many people live without electricity or access to
clean water.
Liberia's strict new measures came
as medical authorities there said three infected doctors treated with an
experimental drug were showing signs of recovery, although it was not certain
if it was thanks to the drug. Announcing the quarantine, as well as a wider
curfew, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said last night:
'We have been unable to control the spread due to continued
denials, cultural burying practices, disregard for the advice of health workers
and disrespect for the warnings by the government.'As a result and due to the
large population concentration the disease has spread widely in Monrovia and
environs. May God bless us all and save the state,' she later added.
Members
of the Church of Aladura pray on the beach in Monrovia, Liberia. They said they
were praying for God to rescue Liberia from its current crisis
Liberian
soldiers opened fire on residents of a slum in their country's capital
city today after it was locked down in an effort to contain the spread
of Ebola virus.
According to DailyMail,
people ran screaming as soldiers from the country's Ebola Task Force
brutally enforced a quarantine of Monrovia's West Point district ordered
by the country's president last night. See photos below.
- See more at: http://www.lailasblog.com/2014/08/graphic-photos-liberian-soldiers-open.html#more
