A former Liberian army commander has been arrested for "subversive activities" - the first such arrests since landmark elections in 2005. Gen Charles Julu headed the presidential guard under former leader Samuel Doe and led a 1994 coup attempt. Deputy Information Minister Gabriel Williams said he understood Gen Julu had been plotting a coup but the government said there was no threat. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf took power in 2006 after a 14-year war.
The BBC's Jonathan Paye-Layleh in the capital, Monrovia, says people are shocked at the possibility of renewed unrest in the country. The United Nations has some 15,000 peacekeepers in Liberia - the second largest deployment in the world. "This man [Julu] was detained by the National Security Agency for subversive acts against the state," Information Minister Lawrence Bropleh told Reuters news agency. He refused to say whether this meant a coup plot and said an investigation was under way. "The Liberian public should remain calm. There is no immediate threat to the state," he said. Student groups from Doe's Krahn ethnic group have condemned the arrests and called for the release of Gen Julu and the other former officer also arrested. BBC, 19 July 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6906072.stm
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