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MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Liberia's president told her country Friday that "peace is in our hands" after a U.N. peacekeeping mission handed over security responsibilities following a 13-year effort to stabilize a nation wracked by back-to-back civil wars.
The U.N. force already has withdrawn from areas where it had been assigned since 2003. A reduced presence of 1,200 troops will remain in a supporting role.
At a ceremony Friday evening, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said her forces were up to the task, and she urged Liberians to support them.
"It's our country. No one can do it for us. No one can protect us from ourselves," she said.
Liberians suffered through 14 years of civil war and violence that ended in 2003. Some estimate that more than 250,000 people died. A decade later, the country was hit hard by an Ebola epidemic that left more than 4,800 dead.
Those expressing optimism included those who participated in the fighting that left the country tattered.
Daniel Chea, defense minister under the regime of Charles Taylor, told The Associated Press he understood why some people were apprehensive about the U.N. departure.
"You saw a lot of destruction both in human lives and properties, and the memory of that is still fresh on the minds of the people," he said. "But then we must also realize that the United Nations cannot be here forever."
Before the handover, Liberia's police and army conducted confidence-building operations including the staging of mock invasions, at times causing panic among unaware residents.
"We may not have everything that we do need to carry on the security for the people of Liberia," police spokesman Sam Collins said, "but we have prepared ourselves to take over the challenge in terms of filling the gap that will be created by the U.N. mission's departure."
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