Chaos busted in Liberia today when residents of most infected Ebola virus slum tried resisting their Ebola task force after it was locked down with a blockade as ordered by the country's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf last night in an effort to contain the spread of Ebola virus.
The chaos in Monrovia started after protesters surrounded the home of the West Point's commissioner, Miatta Flowers, blaming her for the decision to turn their neighbourhood into an open-air isolation ward. People ran screaming as soldiers opened fire on residents. 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.
Tensions came to a head over the weekend when 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. police and soldiers sealed off West Point, a peninsula where the Mesurado River meets the Atlantic Ocean, with makeshift barricades built from piles of wood and barbed wire.
Few roads go into the area, and a major road runs along the base of the isthmus, serving as a barrier between the neighbourhood and the rest of Monrovia.
Ferries to the area have been halted, and a coast guard boat was patrolling the waters around the peninsula.
West Point Commissioner Miata Flowers is escorted out of the slum by members of Liberia's Ebola Task Force
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