Liberia: UNMIL on Troops Drawdown Plan

The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has announced that the continuous drawdown in its troops is a clear manifestation that it has succeeded in stabilizing and securing peace in Liberia. Addressing the mission's briefing on Wednesday in Monrovia, the chief of the Civil Military Coordination session, Colonol Christopher Holshek and the deputy Chief Operations Officer, Lt/Colonol Greg Tasker in separate statements, reiterated that the Security Council Resolution 1777, dated September 20, 2007 mandated the mission to reduce its forces by 2,450 personnel by September 2008. The mission officials disclosed that as a result of the Security Council's mandate, some of the troops have begun leaving Liberia to go to their various countries. They explained that the withdrawal of these troops from some counties in Liberia will follow a replacement of troops from other counties in the country. allafrica.com