
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 1, 1990                   TAG: 9006010658
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/2   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

U.S. SHIPS OFF COAST OF LIBERIA SET TO AID AMERICAN EVACUATION

The United States has a flotilla of warships off the coast of Liberia in case it needs to use military force to evacuate thousands of Americans who might become trapped by an armed rebellion there.

The six warships carrying more than 2,000 Marines were ordered to remain on station in international waters off the Liberian coast, the Pentagon said Thursday.

The number of Americans in Liberia has been declining. Several weeks ago, the State Department said 10,000 people, including American citizens and others holding claim to U.S. protection, were in the country. That figure later was pared down to around 6,000, and the department now estimates, because some have left already, that 1,100 people could be eligible for evacuation.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in a rebellion against the rule of Liberian President Samuel Doe during the last five months.

The State Department on Thursday advised all U.S. citizens to leave the African country immediately.

The U.S. flotilla includes a destroyer, an amphibious assault ship, a tank landing ship and other support vessels carrying ammunition and combat supplies, said Cmdr. David Thomas, a spokesman for the Defense Department.

Also aboard are 179 Marine officers and 2,102 enlisted men, Thomas said.

Rebel troops moved to within 25 miles of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, on Thursday and there was concern that fighting in the city could raise the death toll dramatically.

The State Department, in a travel advisory, warned that conditions in the country were deteriorating.

All non-essential U.S. personnel and all dependents were ordered to depart. Americans in the country needing assistance were advised to contact the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia.

The probability of using military force to evacuate Americans is low and the ships are being stationed off the Liberian coast as a precaution, Thomas said.

by CNB