|
Liberian Rebels Advance as Peacekeepers Awaited
Rebels edged forward against Liberian President Charles Taylor's forces, with no sign on Sunday of a quick deployment of West African or U.S. troops to halt the bloodshed. Taylor said more than 1,000 people had died in eight days of fighting that has cut in two the scarred and terrified coastal capital, Monrovia. Military sources said that rebels of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) had advanced on Saturday on a key road that bypasses Monrovia's center through populated suburbs despite promises of a unilateral cease-fire. South of Monrovia, another rebel group known as Model launched fresh attacks and residents said there was fighting about 19 miles from Liberia's second port of Buchanan. Taylor, who controls less than a third of the broken country and has been indicted by a U.N.-backed war crimes court, reiterated on Saturday his promise to step down. He said he would hand over to either his vice-president or the speaker of parliament. Taylor did not explain exactly what would influence his choice or when he would go, other than it would be once foreign troops arrived. But details still need to be completed for the deployment of West African soldiers and it is unclear if they will even come while the fighting continues.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-07-27 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=16952 |