Violence erupted in West Point, Monrovia on Wednesday as residents tried to fight off authorities who have quarantined the area to avoid further spread of the dreaded Ebola virus.

Four residents have been reported wounded due to the encounter as soldiers used tear gas and open fire on the crowd composed mostly of young men who learned that their community will be sealed off in an attempt to contain the Ebola outbreak.

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The public health crisis in Liberia is quickly becoming a security concern as Liberians, especially in the slums of West Point, become tense from conspiracies resulting from a 14-year-long civil war.

The densely populated area, with around 75,000 inhabitants, has been cited as one of the regions most in danger of an outbreak as 466 out of almost 850 patients have died from the disease.

However, West Point residents do not like how the situation is being handled as they fear the government is trying to wipe them out.

"They say West Point is infested with Ebola, but from what I see I do not see any Ebola," resident Gerald Moore stated, adding that what they're worried about is how to get basic necessities like food and water into the town during the lockdown.

Another resident, Patrick Wesseh, expressed his discontent towards the quarantine, openly worrying about getting food and necessities as well.

Meanwhile, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf explained on the government's website that the quarantine measures are "meant to save lives" and not to burden them further.

Deaths from the outbreak have escalated to 1,229 in West Africa as other countries are watching out for further spread of the virus across the affected countries' borders.

To make matters worse, some of the top officials and medical personnel leading the battle against the disease have been stricken by the very sickness that they have tried to cure.

TagsWest Point, outbreak, quarantine, ebola quarantine, ellen johnson, sirleaf