A riot in Liberia last week left 18 people dead, Liberian interim leader Gyude Bryant said Monday. Over 200 were arrested in the worst outbreak of violence since thecountry emerged from a bloody civil war last year.

Bryant told a news conference in Monrovia the body count was conducted "as of morning," bringing the death toll to 18 from the United Nations mission's earlier figure of 16. The UN peacekeepingmission said more than 200 were injured and about 260 arrested.

The riot broke out late Thursday in the Paynesville suburb of the capital Monrovia. The rioters burnt down churches, mosques, private homes and vehicles during the three-day street violence, and Muslim and Christian youths fought each other with sticks and knives on Sunday again, but relative calm have return to the city center and surrounding communities after the government imposed a curfew on Friday.

On Monday, the economic life of Monrovia has become dormant. Schools and banks throughout the country have been ordered closed by the government, and major businesses remain closed while commercial transport owners have packed their vehicles for fear ofbeing damaged by marauding hoodlums.

On Monday, UN peacekeepers patrolled the streets with Liberian police. Large caches of arms and ammunition was seized Sunday afternoon by the joint patrol in the Jacob Town, Black Gina Community area, while several were arrested by the security forces.The area had witnessed grave destruction during the riot. Religious houses, private homes and most of the business entities in the area were burnt down.

The seized weapons include heavy machine guns and light weaponsdiscovered from the home of Philip Kamara, a commander of rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), which ousted former president Charles Taylor last year.

In the mean time, Economic Community of West African States' chief mediator of the Liberian crisis, former Nigerian head of state Abdul-Salami Alhaji Abubakar is expected to meet with all stakeholders in the Liberian peace process Tuesday, and the riot is surely to cast a shadow on the process.

Source: Xinhua