Peace Mission Begins

Children watch helicopters arrive at the U.S. embassy in Monrovia, Liberia, Aug. 6, 2003. Aboard were seven members of a U.S. liaison team sent to support a peacekeeping force in the embattled West African nation. President Bush said no larger American force would go ashore until Liberian President Charles Taylor left the country.

Liberian President Charles Taylor records an address to the nation on the eve of his expected departure from office, in the Liberian capital Monrovia, Aug. 10, 2003. Taylor officially handed over power to Vice President Moses Blah the following day.

New Liberian President Moses Blah speaks to a reporter during an interview at his home in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, Aug. 5, 2003. West African leaders say Blah is to hand over power in October to a transitional government that will lead Liberia to new elections. Rebels insist Blah is only a stand-in for Taylor, and want him out sooner.

Some of the possessions of former Liberian President Charles Taylor are loaded onto an airplane prior to his departure from the country, at Monrovia's Roberts International Airport, Aug. 11, 2003.

Soldiers of the West African Peacekeeping Force react as former President Charles Taylor departs Monrovia enroute to exile in Nigeria, Aug. 11, 2003. The West African peacekeeping troops began arriving Aug. 4, but were kept at a temporary base at the airport until reaching a sufficient strength to deploy in the capital.

A crowd gathers on the beach to observe one of three U.S. warships, carrying about 2,300 Marines, off the coast near the capital of Monrovia, Aug. 11, 2003. Washington has stressed that the U.S. role in Liberia would be as back-up to African peace troops, and that they would be concerned primarily with getting in humanitarian supplies.

Charles Taylor and his wife Jewel arrive in Calabar, Nigeria, Aug. 12, 2003, to begin a life of exile after turning over power to his Vice President Moses Blah. Taylor is expected to set up a home for his family in Calabar.

Civilians gather on the streets to try to buy food in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, Aug. 12, 2003.

After reaching an agreement for the rebels to leave the port in Monrovia, officials speak to the media, Aug. 12, 2003. From left are Nigerian Brig. Gen. Festus Okonkwo, U.S. Embassy press officer Dante Paradiso, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebel Maj. Gen. Seyeah Sheriff, LURD official Sekou Fofana and U.S. Ambassador John Blaney.

American military helicopters flying over the sea pass oil storage tanks at the port in Monrovia, Aug. 13, 2003. There was much helicopter traffic throughout the day to and from the three U.S. warships that are sitting offshore from the capital.

A female rebel soldier points her AK-47 automatic rifle at a suspected looter in the rebel-held port area of Monrovia, Liberia, Aug. 13, 2003. Securing the port is a key first step for peacekeepers in the starving capital.

People loot food supplies in the port area in rebel-held Monrovia, Liberia, Aug. 13, 2003. Thousands of people poured out of the area around the port with bags of grain and other goods taken from U.S. and World Food Program aid warehouses and other stockpiles.

A female looter, left, is beaten with a plastic electrical cord by a rebel soldier for attempting to loot grain from the rebel-controlled port in Monrovia, Aug. 13, 2003.

A rebel fighter in Monrovia loads his revolver as he drives out of the city, Aug. 13, 2003. The next day, the rebels stood down from their two-month siege of the capital, and U.S. Ambassador John Blaney and rebel chief of staff Abdullah Sherrif shook hands to signal the handover.

U.S. Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit take up positions after being dropped off by helicopter at Liberia's main airport, Aug. 14, 2003. As the rebels retreated, dozens of U.S. troops came ashore, significantly increasing the American presence in support of West African peacekeepers.

Members of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit sit with their equipment after arriving in Monrovia, Aug. 14, 2003.

Members of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit are met by the media as they arrive in Monrovia, Aug. 14, 2003.

Thousands of people celebrate the coming of the West African peacekeeping force in rebel-held territory in Monrovia, Liberia, Aug. 14, 2003. About 800 West African peacekeepers, mostly Nigerian soldiers, had landed so far, and a second Nigerian battalion was enroute.

For pictures from the earlier fighting, click here.