70 killed in mortar attack in Liberia

HEAVY fighting engulfed the Liberian capital yesterday, killing at least 70 people as mortars pounded the city in an all-out battle between rebels and forces of President Charles Taylor.

During two hours of continuous mortar fire, one shell killed 25 Liberians when it hit an American diplomatic compound where at least 10,000 refugees have taken refuge, across the street from the sprawling US Embassy complex overlooking the Atlantic.

After the blast, enraged Liberians lined up at least 18 bloodied, mangled bodies from the compound in the street outside the embassy. Some shouted, “We are going to die for nothing,” as two embassy guards in camouflage watched from behind bulletproof glass. An American journalist was wounded in the attack on the compound, according to early reports