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Fresh fighting breaks out in Liberian capital: Witnesses
Monrovia, June 08: Fighting between Liberia`s main rebel group and government forces resumed today about five km from the centre of the capital Monrovia, witnesses said.
Monrovia, June 08: Fighting between Liberia's main rebel group and government forces resumed today about five km from the centre of the capital Monrovia, witnesses said.
Residents of Duala district said they could hear light gunfire but that the intensity of the fighting was not clear. There were no reports of clashes in central Monrovia.
On Friday the rebel Liberians' United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), which is seeking to overthrow President Charles Taylor, advanced to within five km of central Monrovia, causing thousands of residents fleeing into the city centre.
They seized the port area yesterday for several hours, before retreating to a position several km north.
The government said the rebels had been pushed back by troops coordinated by Taylor himself.
LURD announced today it was halting its advance on Monrovia "on humanitarian grounds" and gave Taylor three days to step down.
"LURD strongly instructs Charles Taylor to step down from the Liberian presidency within the next seventy-two hours to avoid bloodshed in Monrovia," it said in a statement.
LURD has been fighting for four years to overthrow Taylor, who had been a leading warlord in the seven-year civil war that ended in 1997.
The rebels now control much of Liberia, where almost uninterrupted civil war has left an estimated 200,000 people dead since the early 1990s.
Bureau Report
On Friday the rebel Liberians' United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), which is seeking to overthrow President Charles Taylor, advanced to within five km of central Monrovia, causing thousands of residents fleeing into the city centre.
They seized the port area yesterday for several hours, before retreating to a position several km north.
The government said the rebels had been pushed back by troops coordinated by Taylor himself.
LURD announced today it was halting its advance on Monrovia "on humanitarian grounds" and gave Taylor three days to step down.
"LURD strongly instructs Charles Taylor to step down from the Liberian presidency within the next seventy-two hours to avoid bloodshed in Monrovia," it said in a statement.
LURD has been fighting for four years to overthrow Taylor, who had been a leading warlord in the seven-year civil war that ended in 1997.
The rebels now control much of Liberia, where almost uninterrupted civil war has left an estimated 200,000 people dead since the early 1990s.
Bureau Report