Bloody Monday in Monrovia

At least one person was killed in a violent skirmish between demonstrators and Liberian police and UN forces in Monrovia today on the eve of a presidential runoff. Opposition candidate Winston Tubman of the Congress for a Democratic Change withdrew from the runoff Friday, urging his supporters to stay away from the polls. Hundreds gathered at CDC headquarters today. Some allegedly threw rocks at police, who responded with tear gas and gunfire. The gas stung my eyes as I followed the police and UN vehicles up Tubman Boulevard as they pursued CDC supporters. I saw dozens arrested, forced to kneel at gunpoint as they were handcuffed. I also went back to CDC headquarters, where a pool of blood coagulated on the downstairs porch. There was also blood on the stairway to the second floor, and splotched across a room where four bodies were allegedly lain. "Why would you people give her the Nobel Prize so that she can shoot on unarmed people marching for peace?" so many people demanded.