President Samuel Doe of Liberia, who apparently was killed by rebels in the capital city of Monrovia Sunday, was about to surrender when he died, diplomatic sources in Monrovia said.
After more than eight months of civil war, Doe had left his beachside mansion for the first time since July in order to turn himself over to the five-nation peacekeeping force that has occupied much of the city, they said.Instead, he was wounded in a gun battle and died a hostage of Prince Johnson, one of the two rebel leaders fighting to overthrow the government, witnesses and the U.S. State Department said Tuesday. His body has not, however, been recovered.
Doe's death leaves the leadership of the war-torn West African country in disarray. Four different men have claimed to succeed the president of 10 years - rival rebel leaders Johnson and Charles Taylor, Brig. Gen. David Nimlay, who was Doe's own choice as his successor, and a president-in-exile in Gambia.
"The situation as to who is in charge is very confused," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington.
U.S. officials said Washington is not ready to recognize any government leader in Liberia and cannot predict whether Johnson's ouster of Doe will mean a peaceful resolution or more violence.
State Department and White House officials also said they still had not been able to confirm Doe was killed by forces under Johnson, although Boucher said "we accept" such reports as true.
Diplomatic sources said they expected Taylor, who leads the largest force of dissidents, to use the confusion to his advantage and win control of the city.