20110617
Reuters
MONROVIA (Reuters) - The Liberian government said on Thursday it had seized a cache of arms and ammunitions including assault rifles and rocket launchers in a town near the border with neighbouring Ivory Coast.



The government said about 92 people, said to be refugees who fled the conflict earlier this year in Ivory Coast, are currently being investigated along with a local Liberian chief in a county in southeast Liberia.

"The weapons discovered by the police are believed to have been brought over into Liberia by fighters fleeing the Ivory Coast crisis," a statement from the Liberian police said.

The statement said 67 AK-47s, two light assault rifles, three RPG missiles and rockets, a machine gun and several thousand rounds of ammunitions were among the seized cache.

The discovery follows a few days after Liberian police arrested a mercenary commander known as "Bob Marley", accused by the United Nations of ordering executions while fighting for Ivory Coast's ousted leader Laurent Gbagbo.

Liberia is hosting several thousand Ivorian refugees who fled to the neighbouring West African state during four months of post-election violence following disputed presidential elections.

Gbagbo, who refused to step down after the November 2010 elections he was judged to have lost to rival Alassane Ouattara, is believed to have hired Liberian mercenaries to help him stay in power.

The United Nations has said it was concerned by the return of Liberian mercenaries who were bringing arms into the country and who potentially pose a security risk to the country which is also recovery from a long civil war. The UN said it had reinforced controls at the border between the two countries.