Liberia: Irish troops form the largest Western contingent of the international peacekeeping force in Liberia. Declan Walsh spent the day with some of them in Monrovia yesterday
In another time, Hotel Africa could have been a tropical paradise. A sparkling, white sand beach runs behind the five-star resort. Palm trees dot the grounds, swaying gently in the hot breeze. There are luxury villas and a splendid pool.
But this is not the right time. Years of war and greed have turned Hotel Africa into a derelict wreck. The reception is deserted and covered in glass shards, the mouldy rooms have been stripped clean. And the only guests are 470 Irish soldiers, who are definitely not on holidays.
This is Camp Clara; a cluster of 80 air-conditioned tents in the hotel grounds 15 kilometres north of Monrovia. It is the base for the Irish Army's largest, and potentially most perilous, peace enforcement mission.
"It might look idyllic, but it's not," said Lieut Col Paddy Moran, commander of the 90th Infantry Battalion, at his office in an abandoned oceanside villa.
Snakes, malaria and extreme heat were the initial challenges to the Irish troops, who landed in early December. But far more potent threats lie outside the barbed wire enclosure.
Liberia's 17-year crisis ended last August when President Charles Taylor fled into exile, thanks to both international pressure and a punishing rebel siege of Monrovia. A peace deal followed, and now the world's largest UN mission aims to stabilise Liberia and demobilise its combatants, an estimated 50,000 ill-disciplined gunmen, and some women. It is a tall order.
The Irish "battalion minus" - comprising over 400 infantry troops and about 25 from the elite Ranger division - is the largest Western component of the 15,000-strong, mainly African mission. It has been assigned some of the most dangerous tasks.
A Quick Reaction Force is on 24-hour notice to react anywhere across Liberia, with orders to open fire if necessary. A smaller group from the Ranger wing carries out a reconnaissance mission deep in the bush. They also intervene to save lives. Recently they freed 37 civilians in the northern town of Karnla, where rogue Taylor soldiers had locked them into a shipping container.
Three times a day a convoy of heavily armoured vehicles patrols Monrovia. The exercise both reassures civilians and is a show of force to the thousands of former combatants still roaming the city.
"We're flying the flag, just to let people know we are here," explained Lieut John Aherne as yesterday's patrol was leaving.
The convoy trundled past lines of bullet-pocked buildings, rickety slums and dozens of roadside churches. Painted signs advertise the Tower of Faith church, or the Mountain of Effective Prayers. Liberians love religion; for years it was the only support they had.
After passing checkpoints manned by Ghanaian peacekeepers, the convoy turns on to Somalia Drive. The long, straight road skirts the city, passing over a mangrove swamp. Its name also carries a certain resonance.
Many of the Irish soldiers have seen Black Hawk Down, the Hollywood account of how US troops were sucked into a battle in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, in 1993. By the time they fought their way back to base, 17 soldiers were dead. Nobody doubts that a similar scenario is possible in Liberia.
"It's an explosive situation here; things can happen very quickly," said Lieut Col Moran. "It's reckoned the whole city could be armed again in just two hours."
Yet there are reasons for optimism. The peace deal is holding, and the rebels have joined the transitional government headed by businessman Gyude Bryant. Next month a conference in New York aims to draft a blueprint for rebuilding Liberia. The total cost will probably exceed $1 billion.
So far the Irish soldiers' most pressing problem has been the suffocating heat. Temperatures in Monrovia regularly brush 40 degrees, at stifling levels of humidity, but most say they have now acclimatised.
The beach at Camp Clara looks tempting but it is a deadly illusion. Tests shows the water is heavily polluted at levels that "go off the scale," said battalion spokesman, Comdt Willie Dwyer.
But there are some home comforts - Internet and low-cost phone facilities, three-times weekly bar facilities and a local re-transmission of RTÉ Radio.
Morale among the rangers was hit by the death of Sgt Derek Mooney in an apparent road accident early in the mission. Another ranger was badly injured, and is still recovering in hospital in Dublin.
The Minister of Defence, Mr Smith, is due to arrive in Liberia tomorrow. His visit coincides with the resumption of the demobilisation programme.
The first attempt to disarm the militiamen ended in chaos last month, as thousands of gunmen rampaged through the city. The Irish troops had just arrived.
"We got a taste of the potential this place has," smiled Lieut Col Moran. "But we have the equipment and the training. So we prepare for the worst and hope for the best."