Nigerian general takes over Liberia ECOMOG force .  MONROVIA 1996-08-22  Nigerian Major General Sam Victor Malu took over on Thursday as commander of the [START_ENT] ECOMOG [END_ENT] peacekeeping force in Liberia , two days after the start of the latest ceasefire in the six-year civil war .  Malu replaced another Nigerian major general , John Inienger , who told officers at the handover ceremony that peace was now at hand for Liberia after six years of fighting and more than a dozen failed accords .  " The search for peace in Liberia has been difficult , challenging and sometimes painful .  Peacekeepers were harassed , killed and taken hostage , " he said .  " It is difficult but I want to assure you that peace is in sight . "  United Nations military observers travelling to the western town of Tubmanburg on Wednesday to monitor the ceasefire were delayed by shooting along the highway , U.N. special representative Anthony Nyakyi said .  They finally went ahead with an escort from the ULIMO-J faction .  Faction leaders who agreed a new peace deal in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Saturday have accused each other of breaking the ceasefire .  The latest peace deal foresees the disarmament of an estimated 60,000 combatants and sets a target date of May 30 next year for elections .  The ECOMOG force , currently 10,000 strong , was sent to Liberia by the Economic Community of West African States in 1990 at the height of the fighting .
Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group