VOA News
25 Jun 2003, 09:56 UTC
Liberian rebels are continuing to shell areas around Monrovia, the capital, as embattled President Charles Taylor said he and his forces will fight the rebel advance until the end.
Explosions rumbled in Monrovia late Tuesday night and early Wednesday, shattering the latest ceasefire. Some reports say the rebels are near a strategic bridge over the Saint Paul's river, placing them just a few kilometers from the city center.
Masses of civilians have already fled from Monrovia's suburbs to the city center, seeking the safety of refugee shelters.
The rebels are moving towards Monrovia for the first time since government forces pushed them back from the outskirts of the city earlier this month. Rebels and government forces blame each other for the renewed fighting.
On Monday, the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy threatened to boycott peace talks in Ghana. The group accuses mediators of failing to hold President Taylor to his promise to step down within a month under a cease-fire agreement.
On Friday, the president said he will serve out his term and may run again whenever elections are held. His current term ends in January.
Liberia's warring parties signed a deal last week to establish an interim administration excluding Mr. Taylor.
Mr. Taylor, a former rebel leader himself, is under an international court indictment for his alleged involvement in Sierra Leone's brutal civil war, which ended in 2001.
Liberia's four-year-long civil war has claimed thousands of lives and displaced thousands more.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
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