VOA News
26 Jun 2003, 13:59 UTC
Liberia's defense minister says government forces have pushed rebels back from the center of the capital, Monrovia, following days of intense fighting.
Daniel Chea says troops loyal to President Charles Taylor have forced rebels back about 10 kilometers from the heart of the city to the area around St. Paul's Bridge.
Residents in the city say the sound of gunfire died down Thursday after heavy overnight fighting.
The government says scores of civilians have been killed and hundreds injured since rebels began their advance on the capital Tuesday. Monrovia is flooded with refugees fleeing the latest battles. Thousands of them have sought shelter in diplomatic missions.
On Wednesday, Britain's United Nations Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock proposed the United States lead an international peacekeeping force for Liberia.
He said outside intervention, such as France's recent intervention in Ivory Coast, would be very constructive and welcomed internationally. But there is no indication the United States has any plans to do so.
Rebel forces had said they would accept a U.S. deployment if it came with President Taylor's resignation.
Ambassador Greenstock leaves Thursday on a seven-nation tour of West Africa, leading a U.N. delegation that will focus on the situations in Liberia, Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau.
Amid the latest violence, the U.S. State Department has repeated its call for Mr. Taylor to step down under the terms of a week-old cease-fire agreement.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned against trying to resolve political differences through violence.
Liberia's peace agreement, signed June 17, called for an interim government excluding Mr. Taylor. But last week, the president said he would serve until the end of his term in January and might run again whenever elections are held.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
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