Liberia marks security handover from UN force after 13 years

MONROVIA, Liberia – Liberia's president says her country's forces are capable of providing security after U.N. peacekeepers handed over responsibility.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf spoke at a ceremony Friday evening for the official handing over of duties after 13 years.

The U.N. force has withdrawn from areas where it has been assigned since 2003.

The president told Liberians that "peace is in our hands."

A reduced U.N. force of about 1,200 troops will remain in a supporting role.

The West African country suffered back-to-back civil wars that ended in 2003. A decade later, the country was hit hard by an Ebola epidemic that left more than 4,800 dead.