Irish soldiers on a UN-mandated peace-enforcement mission in Liberia have arrested two rebel commanders who were holding 30 civilians captive in the north of the war-torn country.

LIBERIA'S rebels have pushed down a major highway towards the capital Monrovia, aid workers said yesterday as thousands of civilians fled the latest clashes, casting doubt on an increasingly rocky peace deal.

LIBERIA’S week-old peace deal appeared under growing pressure yesterday after a weekend of ceasefire violations and an unconfirmed radio report of a massacre of 1,000 people in the remote and lawless Nimba County.