Rebels renewed their assault on the Liberian capital, Monrovia, at the weekend, sending thousands of civilians fleeing and shattering the fragile ceasefire before peacekeepers arrive.
They took a bridge in the western suburbs about five kilometres from the city centre.
Speaking from the balcony of his mansion, President Charles Taylor said his forces would fight to the last man.
But the rebels, armed with mortars and heavy machine guns, encountered only light resistance yesterday, and they now control the port and northern districts.
Taylor, who is wanted for war crimes in Sierra Leone, has accepted a Nigerian offer of asylum, but says he will go only after peace keepers arrive. The rebels fear he will stay and try to use the presence of foreign soldiers to cling to power.
A spokesperson for the main rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, said the offensive was a response to provocation and not an attempt to seize the city.
Delegates meeting in Ghana are expected to decide today whether to accept a peace plan which would pave the way for an outside force of African troops. – Guardian Unlimited Â