National Guard Will Guard the Nation in New Orleans

Living up to their name, US National Guard troops have arrived in New Orleans to patrol the streets and guard the city for the first time since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last September. Mayor Ray Nagin called in the National Guard and state police after five teenagers were gunned down together on Saturday and another man was stabbed to death on Sunday in an argument over beer. In addition to the 100 National Guard members with law enforcement experience, 60 state police officers are expected in the city. The Guard will patrol the most devastated parts of the city still in tatters after Hurricane Katrina, leaving local police to concentrate on sections of the city that are returning to life fastest.

No deadline has been set for the National Guard's mission, which did not require a special order because Louisiana is still under a state of emergency ten months after Katrina.

"Today is a day when New Orleanians are stepping up. We've had enough," Nagin said. "This is our line in the sand. We're saying we're not going any further." Acting at the mayor's request, Louisiana Governor Democrat Kathleen Blanco said she would send National Guard troops and state police to patrol the streets of New Orleans after the bloody weekend in which six people were killed.

"The situation is urgent," Blanco said on Monday. "Things like this should never happen, and I am going to do all I can to stop it."

Nagin said he would not allow criminals to take over when the city is still trying to recover from the hurricane.

Jacques Thibodeau, of the Louisiana National Guard, said he thought the force had the experience to conduct such civilian operations.

"They understand civilian use of force operations, they understand how police officers respond to situations because they have done it in a military environment, and most of us are police officers in our civilian capacity", he said.

Community leaders have raised fears that the violence could discourage people from moving back to New Orleans.

The National Guard had as many as 15,000 soldiers in the city in the weeks after Katrina last August and September. As many as 2,000 stayed until February, the Louisiana National Guard spokesman said.

• June 21, 2006

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