Fighting in Liberian Capital Becomes Fiercer as Army Vows to Defeat Rebels

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, July 21, 2003

Fighting in Liberian Capital Becomes Fiercer as Army Vows to Defeat Rebels

Fighting in Liberia's capital Monrovia grew fiercer on Sunday as President Charles Taylor vowed to defeat rebels advancing on the city, according to reports reaching Lagos from Monrovia.

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Fighting in Liberia's capital Monrovia grew fiercer on Sunday as President Charles Taylor vowed to defeat rebels advancing on the city, according to reports reaching Lagos from Monrovia.

Government troops were battling to halt the advance by the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) that had seized St. Paul Bridge leading to the heart of the capital and were fighting their way to Monrovia's seaport, just three km from the city center.

"We will never desert the city," Taylor said. "We will fight street to street, house to house and we will defeat them."

Mortar shells reportedly hit the center of the capital, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes for the third time in less than two months.

The streets leading toward the city center were awash with people carrying bundles and mattresses on their heads, in scenes reminiscent of two LURD offensives in June when some 700 people died, thousands wounded and tens of thousands displaced.

The new fighting came as west African diplomats submitted a draft agreement on forming a transitional government for Liberia.

The draft proposes that Liberia's vice-president lead the government until the installation of a transitional administration.

Under the draft, the transitional government will begin operating in September and give way to an elected government in January 2005.

The document spells out the share of seats in the national assembly to be held by the current government and rebel factions.

The mediators have given copies of the draft to all sides and told them to prepare to reach a final agreement by Tuesday.

Indicted for war crimes in neighboring Sierra Leone by a UN-mandated court, Taylor has said he would leave the country, but only after a peacekeeping force arrives.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has promised to send up to 3,000 peacekeepers to Liberia but has yet to deploy any.

Diplomats at the United Nations (UN) said Thursday that the peacekeeping troops would not be deployed until mid-August at the earliest.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had called on ECOWAS to send the vanguard force of 1,000 to 1,500 troops to Monrovia by July 31,warning that any delay would make the situation there more dangerous.

Twice last month, LURD forces fought their way almost to the heart of the capital, causing the heaviest casualties of the bloody four-year civil war in the country.

Residents of Monrovia criticized the delay in the ECOWAS deployment and called on the international community to send peacekeepers immediately.

The United States is under pressure to take a lead role in the peacekeeping force for Liberia.

US President George W. Bush said this week after a meeting with Annan that the United States would only send troops after the ECOWAS force was deployed and after Taylor gives up power.

The Liberian civil war, which lasted about 15 years and claimedat least 200,000 lives, flared up again in 1998 following attacks launched by the LURD rebels in northern Liberia.

Civil war over the past decade has made Liberia among the most miserable places in the world and the latest unrest since 1998 has forced some 300,000 Liberians to flee to neighboring countries and claimed thousands more lives.

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