Liberians jubilant as rebels withdraw and US peacekeepers fly in

REBELS lifted their siege of Liberia’s war-torn capital Monrovia yesterday after scores of US troops were flown into the battered city.

The guerrillas handed control of the vital port to Nigerian-led peacekeepers, who had not been able to cross the bridges into their territory until now.

Shaking hands with US Ambassador John Blaney on one of the front-line bridges, the insurgents ended an offensive that had brought down President Charles Taylor and killed well over 1,000 civilians.