Graphic Photos: Liberian Soldiers Open Fire on Residents of Ebola Slum

Liberian soldiers opened fire on residents of a slum
in their country's capital city today after it was locked
down in an effort to contain the spread of Ebola
virus.
According to DailyMail, people ran screaming as
soldiers from the country's Ebola Task Force brutally
enforced a quarantine of Monrovia's West Point
district ordered by the country's president last night.
See photos below. Warning: Graphic content
The chaos in Monrovia erupted after protesters
surrounded the home of the West Point's
commissioner, Miatta Flowers, pictured below,
blaming her for the decision to turn their
neighbourhood into an open-air isolation ward.
Soldiers carrying assault rifles lashed out at residents
with telescopic truncheons and at least one man was
shot as a security team moved in to evacuate Mrs.
Flowers. A resident of the West Point district told the
Associated Press by phone that security forces were
firing into the air to disperse crowds angry over the
quarantine measures. 
Over the weekend also, a mob attacked and looted an
Ebola screening centre, accusing officials of
bringing sick people from all over Monrovia into
their neighbourhood. Dozens of people waiting to be
screened fled in the chaos. Looters made off with
items, including bloody sheets and mattresses that
could further spread the virus.
In many areas of the capital, meanwhile, dead bodies
have been in the streets for hours, sometimes days,
even though residents asked that the corpses be
picked up by health ministry workers wearing
protective gear.
Riot police and soldiers have now sealed off West
Point with makeshift barricades built from piles of
wood and barbed wire. Ferries to the area have been
halted, and a coast guard boat was patrolling the
waters around the peninsula. At least 50,000 people
live on the half-mile-long point, which is one of the
poorest and most densely populated neighbourhoods
of the capital. Sanitation is poor even in the best of
times, and defecation in the streets and beaches is a
major problem. Mistrust of authorities is rampant
and many people live without electricity or access to
clean water.
Liberia's strict new measures came as medical
authorities there said three infected doctors treated
with an experimental drug were showing signs of
recovery, although it was not certain if it was thanks
to the drug. Announcing the quarantine, as well as a
wider curfew, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said
last night:
'We have been unable to control the spread due to
continued denials, cultural burying practices,
disregard for the advice of health workers and
disrespect for the warnings by the government.'As a
result and due to the large population concentration
the disease has spread widely in Monrovia and
environs. May God bless us all and save the state,'
she later added.
West Point Commissioner Miata Flowers is escorted
out of the slum by members of Liberia's Ebola Task
Force
Some relatives of Mrs Flowers are led away from the
slum, which has been sealed off by soldiers and
police

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