MONROVIA, Liberia ? Pressure built Monday on the United States to contribute to a peacekeeping force in Liberia, with West African leaders asking for 2,000 U.S. troops — and seeking a response from President Bush before his July visit to the continent.

In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the Bush administration and State Department were “looking at a range of options” in Liberia but had made no decision on whether to supply troops.

Rumsfeld did not reveal his personal view on whether U.S. forces should be deployed, though he seemed to suggest that African nations could handle it largely by themselves, noting that U.S. forces have trained Nigerian and other African armies for regional peacekeeping operations.

“They’ve been well-trained. We’ve helped equip them, and to the extent they’ve been deployed I’ve been told they’ve handled themselves well,” he said.

Bush is scheduled to make a five-day visit to Africa starting Monday. West African leaders said they hope for a troops commitment before his arrival.

U.N. Security Council ambassadors and West African leaders were in Ghana on the third stop of a West African mission, which has focused on assembling a 5,000-strong force to separate rebel forces and those of Liberian President Charles Taylor.

Rebels have waged a three-year campaign to unseat Taylor, an indicted U.N. war-crimes suspect blamed for much of the conflict that has roiled West Africa in recent years.

France, Britain, U.N. diplomats and both sides in Liberia’s fighting have pushed for an American role in a peace force for the country, which was founded by freed American slaves in the 19th century and a longtime regional U.S. ally and trade partner.

U.N. Ambassador Martin Chungong Ayafor of Cameroon, a Security Council member, suggested a U.S.-backed mission could win goodwill for the United States.

Thousands of citizens celebrate outside the U.S. Embassy in Liberia's capital, Monrovia, after hearing a local rumor that President George Bush had agreed to send peacekeeping troops into the war-torn West African nation. Although Liberians jubilated at the embassy Tuesday, Bush has not made a decision whether to send U.S. troops.

“This could be a good face-saving measure for them, and show that they intervene for the sake of peace and security,” Ayafor said.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has also suggested the United States take a leadership role in a peacekeeping force. “Of course that is a sovereign decision for them to take — but all eyes are on them,” Annan said in Geneva.

Western authorities, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monday that two mortar shells hit the U.S. Embassy compound during a siege — contradicting previous American statements that explosives hit only within the walls of the U.S. residential compound located across the street.