The authorities in Liberia are preparing in the next few days to redeploy several thousand troops and their families out of the capital Monrovia to barracks in the provinces, as part of the reorganisation of the National Army following the end of the civil war. The army is being redeployed and reduced in size by President Charles Taylor, the former warlord who won Liberia's first free elections last year. Our West Africa correspondent, Mark Doyle reports from Monrovia that the reorganisation has caused controversy:

During the civil war Monrovia was a magnet for armies and militias of all types as the various factions fought for control. The government army, now under the command of President Taylor, doubled in size and concentrated itself in the capital.

Now President Taylor is redeploying some units back to barracks in the provinces and retiring thousands of other soldiers who were conscripted by previous administrations. On Wednesday a list of some two and a half thousand now ex-soldiers was published.

Some are being retired with pensions, others are being sacked for what is officially called "general worthlessness". The overall aim of the government is to halve the size of the National Army to about six thousand troops.

Critics of the administration however, including most significantly the commander of the West African Peacekeeping Force in Liberia, say President Taylor's new army will be dominated by commanders and soldiers from his own former warring faction at the expense of other factions and tribes. If this does happen, it could be dangerous for Liberia as it may alienate important groups.

Liberians recall that the country's dissent into anarchy began in 1980 when the late President Doe seized power and began factional violence by promoting his particular tribe into all senior government positions. President Taylor's government is completely different.