French troops evacuated more than 500 foreigners from the war-wracked Liberian capital of Monrovia, as continuing battles between rebels and government forces sparked a lightning truce mission by west African mediators. No incidents marred the evacuation of the 512 foreign nationals from Monrovia, Colonel Christian Baptiste of the French Armed Forces chief of staff told AFP. The evacuation came as the United States dispatched 69 troops and an unspecified number of aircraft to boost embassy security in Mauritania and Liberia and prepare for a possible evacuation of US nationals, President George W. Bush announced. In a letter to congressional leaders, Bush said 35 US military personnel were in Liberia while an evacuation force of 34 US troops were on the way to the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott, where government forces crushed an attempted coup Sunday. The troops were expected to arrive Tuesday. Full Story