MONROVIA. June 5: Vigilantes armed with knives an machetes guarded the burntout Monrovia home of world footballer-of-the-year George Weah on Tuesday, vowing to protect the gutted house from looters, reports Reuter.

Gunmen set fire to the 100.000 dollars house on May 26 after Weah supported a call for his war-torn country to become a UN trusteeship. Witnesses said, the attackers flogged relatives in the house and Weah said, one of his cousins was raped.

"The perpetrators have shown their true colours despite efforts by (Weah) to portray a positive image of the country through his soccer." one of the vigilantes told reporters.

"Things the government should have done for the national team, he has done." lie said, vowing to help protect the sea-front mansion day and night. 1

Weah had led a campaign to keep Liberia's 1998 World Cup dreams alive, funding and helping assemble a national side to play a qualifier in the Gambia on Saturday.

But his views on U!« Trusteeship, aired in an interview with The New York Times last month, provoked anger in some quarters in Liberia, which has been ripped apart by bitter fighting between rival factions.