Liberian rebels agree to ceasefire

WEST AFRICAN mediators flew to war-torn Liberia yesterday as rebels besieging the capital said they were willing to respect a ceasefire — but only if President Charles Taylor’s forces stop attacking them.

The rebel push is the most intense yet in a three-year campaign to drive out Mr Taylor, who now controls little territory outside the capital Monrovia.

Fighting has raged for days on the city’s north-west outskirts despite an announcement at the weekend by the main Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) insurgents that they were suspending hostilities to pursue talks with the government and a newly emerged rebel faction.

“Lurd is committed to the strict observance of the ceasefire which it declared, however, it shall be difficult to observe as long as our positions are being constantly attacked by Taylor’s militia,” the rebels said in a statement.

The comments came a day after the government said it was ready to resume talks in Ghana.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas, executive secretary of the regional bloc mediating the talks, and Ghana’s foreign minister, Nana Akuffo Addo, arrived in Monrovia at midday and headed straight to a meeting with Mr Taylor.

Liberians fear a bloody battle for Monrovia, a city of one million repeatedly overrun during seven years of devastating faction fighting that ended in 1996. Mr Taylor emerged the strongest warlord from that conflict and won presidential elections the following year.

The rebel offensive gained momentum last week when a joint UN-Sierra Leone court charged Mr Taylor with war crimes for allegedly aiding Sierra Leone’s notorious rebels.