At least one Liberian rebel fighter has been killed after a convoy escorting a rebel leader came under attack in an eastern district of the capital, Monrovia, eyewitnesses said. The area is home to many supporters of former president Charles Taylor, who was forced to leave office in August.
Desperate for food, tens of thousands of civilians broke through barricades on Monrovia’s front-line bridges on Friday, reuniting Liberia’s war-divided capital after 10 weeks of rebel siege. Many of those pouring across were also searching for their families.
West African leaders flew into bloodied Liberia under heavy military guard on Friday, opening a mission to press warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor to step down as promised, and leave his war-ruined nation for exile.
Rebels fighting for control of the Liberian capital Monrovia on Tuesday declared a unilateral ceasefire and said it would go into effect immediately, a rebel delegate to peace talks in Accra said.
Insurgents attacked government forces on Monday in Liberia’s second-largest city, Buchanan, stepping up the war against President Charles Taylor’s forces on a second front, government forces and aid workers said.
West African, US and United Nations (UN) military representatives deliberated anew on Monday on a long-promised peace force for warring Liberia, as shelling persisted in the besieged capital and rebels and government forces battled for strategic bridges.
While negotiators approached a deadline for reaching a peace deal on Thursday there were reports of fighting less than an hour from the capital of this war-ravaged country founded by US slaves over a century ago.
Liberia’s besieged President Charles Taylor Friday renewed a pledge to step down, but stressed he would only leave after an international peacekeeping force is deployed to his west African nation.
Government troops battled rebels in Liberia as representatives of the warring parties and international mediators gathered on Wednesday in Ghana for talks to end three years of civil war in the west African nation.
An open-ended peace conference launched by Liberian President Charles Taylor to end a long civil war has been derided by civic groups and the opposition as a badly organised and futile project.