Aid lifeline as rebels agree to leave Liberia's capital

Liberia’s main rebel movement has agreed to withdraw from the capital and its vital port, allowing food to flow to the starving city left in ruins after two months of sieges.

But a second rebel group began a push towards Monrovia from their stronghold in the country’s south east yesterday, sending refugees fleeing what they said were indiscriminate attacks and raising fears that the rebels may be fighting for a share of power after Charles Taylor stepped down as president.

“People are coming and killing,” said Pauline Johnson, standing in a downpour and clutching an infant to her breast, after running from her home without pausing to gather any possessions.

In Monrovia, the larger rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, signed an accord promising to pull back completely from the capital by noon tomorrow and surrender control to peacekeepers.

The accord was “extremely important for the delivery of humanitarian relief,” said US Ambassador John Blaney – who along with military commanders of a West African peacekeeping force and a 2,300-member US Marine expeditionary force secured the pledge in a meeting with rebel leaders.

Rebels have held Monrovia’s port and surrounding districts since roughly July 19, cutting off aid and food to refugees and civilians on the government-held side of the city. Warehouses at the port have been pillaged, including at least three depots of the United Nations World Food Programme that had 10,000 tons of aid.

Earlier, government fighters fired over the heads of hundreds of civilians massed at one of the bridges leading to the port, demanding to be allowed to cross in search of food.

“Everybody’s hungry. If we don’t die from gunfire we’ll die of hunger,” said a former university instructor Sylvester Lumeh, 35. “We have to take a chance.”

Rebel official Sekou Fofana confirmed rebels would withdraw from the port, saying: “We did not come and seize the port for any reason except security reasons. There is no reason to remain ourselves at the free port after Taylor has left.”

Brig Gen Festus Okonkwo of Nigeria, the West African peace force commander, said the accord signed yesterday meant the government side also needed to withdraw its militias from the city.

It was not clear whether that meant regular Liberian forces as well as militias would be made to pull out. The accord said nothing about a government militia pullback.

The agreement, meanwhile, also pins the still-forming multi-national force to a timetable – forcing it to speed up deployment throughout the city.

West African nations negotiated Taylor’s exit and pledged a peace force after rebels fighting a three-year war to oust Taylor began a push into Monrovia two months ago, leaving at least 1,000 civilians dead and the capital divided.

Taylor ceded power to his deputy, Moses Blah, on Monday and went into exile in Nigeria, ending 14 years of conflict that began when Taylor, then a rebel, launched Liberia into civil war in 1989.