Police dismantle checkpoints in capital

Police began dismantling army checkpoints in the capital, Monrovia, on Wednesday and nearly all of them have now been removed, generating a public sigh of relief, a UN official in the capital told IRIN on Thursday. The checkpoints, which were manned by policemen from the Special Operations Division to screen vehicles entering the city, were a legacy of war, the official said. Police would search vehicles, particularly those from the hinterland carrying coal and vegetables, causing traffic jams. US Ambassador Bismark Myrick commended the government for its actions but added that security should be strengthened within the city of Monrovia, the newspaper reported. The checkpoints were built with USAID money for the Nigerian-led West African force, ECOMOG, which policed the capital during the seven-year war. The war ended with the election of Charles Taylor as president in 1997, Reuters reported.