Monrovia: Liberia's armed forces have reportedly been given orders to shoot people trying to illegally cross the border from neighbouring Sierra Leone, which was closed to stem the spread of Ebola.

Soldiers stationed in Bomi and Grand Cape Mount counties, which border Sierra Leone, were told to "shoot on sight" any person trying to cross the border, said deputy chief of staff, Colonel Eric Dennis, according to local newspaper the Daily Observer.

Police search in the West Point slum for Ebola patients who escaped after an attack. Credit:Getty Images

The order comes as Liberian officials continue the desperate search for 17 Ebola patients who fled an attack on a quarantine centre in the capital, raising fears they could spread the deadly disease.