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Last ECOMOG troops begin leaving

    ABIDJAN

    The last ECOMOG troops have begun leaving Liberia nine years after they first went there to end a civil war, Fred Eckhard, spokesman of the UN Secretary-General, said on Thursday.

    News reports said Nigeria finished withdrawing its troops on Wednesday. They had mainly been guarding stockpiled arms - surrendered by the former warring factions - the last of which were destroyed on Monday. The remainder of the ECOMOG contingent, which include Ghanaians, are to be withdrawn by Saturday, according to AFP.

    President Charles Taylor decorated six ECOMOG commanders and praised ECOMOG for its peace efforts in Liberia and neighbouring Sierra Leone. As a rebel faction leader during Liberia’s civil war, Taylor was the most ardent critic of ECOMOG’s intervention.

    He also presented the Presidential Medal of Honour to the United Nations, and particularly the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) in recognition of “their sacrificial and dedicated services towards our peacekeeping and peace-building efforts”.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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