Crime wave defeats Liberia police

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Liberia has admitted that its police cannot cope with a wave of armed robberies and has asked people to form vigilante groups to stop the criminals.

Daily "acts of banditry and total lawlessness" including killings and armed robberies had overwhelmed the police, the justice ministry said.

Many members of the criminal gangs are believed to be ex-fighters from the 14-year civil war, which ended in 2003.

Human rights groups have criticised the government for abdicating its duties.

"The government is responsible to protect life and property. With this statement, it means there is no law and order in the country," Dempster Brown, head of the Center for the Protection of Human Rights, told Reuters news agency.

'Can't sleep'

One of the gangs responsible for the crime wave in the capital, Monrovia, is known as the "Issakaba Boys", whose members are infamous for their use of machetes.

"We cannot sleep at night any more. Every night we wait for the Issakaba Boys to come so we can give them what they want," Monrovia resident Anna Jones told the AFP news agency.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was sworn in at the start of the year, tasked with restoring law and order after the civil war.

Some 15,000 United Nation peacekeepers are in the country to ensure security and help train the new security forces.

AFP says Liberia now has 2,500 police officers but they are not yet authorised to carry weapons.

A massive disarmament and retraining exercise was started to help some 60,000 ex-combatants but many dropped out amid funding problems.