Liberia's Second City Falls to Rebels

29/07/2003| IslamWeb

Liberia's second city, Buchanan, has fallen to rebels. Both government forces and rebels have confirmed that the port city is in the hands of the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (Model) - Liberia's second largest rebel force. The loss of Buchanan means the government no longer has access to a sea port. In separate fighting, the main rebel group Lurd (Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy) has taken control of the eastern town of Gbarnga. But the BBC's Paul Welsh in Monrovia says front lines change quickly in Liberia. Liberia's most senior general, General Benjamin Yeaten, said government troops were on the outskirts of Buchanan and were planning a counter attack. Further north, there has been heavy fighting involving the Lurd rebels around two key bridges in the capital, Monrovia. Thousands of Liberians had fled to Buchanan to escape the fighting in Monrovia, where hundreds have been killed and thousands injured in a nine-day assault by rebels. The rebels are trying to overthrow President Charles Taylor, who has been indicted by a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone. He has agreed to quit and accept asylum in Nigeria if peacekeepers come to Liberia. But West African officials and US military experts, who met in neighbouring Ghana on Monday, failed to set a date for deployment. The Nigerian general who would lead any West African peacekeeping force says it is "unlikely" any troops will be deployed this week. **Annan warns rebels*** West Africans want the peacekeepers to be led by United States troops and three US warships are heading for the Liberian coast. But President George W Bush says the troops will not land until a ceasefire is in place. The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has warned the rebels they are disqualifying themselves from playing a role in the country's political future by continuing their military offensive. Speaking to reporters, Annan singled out the Lurd rebels. "I cannot see how they would expect the people to accept them, after the suffering they've put them through. So they should think about that," he said. He also warned that those who continue to wage war in Liberia will be held accountable for any war crimes they commit. The rebels have rejected a US plea to both sides to respect a ceasefire and for the rebels to withdraw to the River Po, 12 kilometres (seven miles) from central Monrovia. Water and food are running short for residents of the capital, whose numbers have been swelled by up to 250,000 refugees. **PHOTO CAPTION*** A government militia member sits in front of the scene of a mortar attack on Broad Street in the Liberian capital Monrovia Monday, July 28, 2003, as fighting entered its 10th day in the war-torn West-African nation. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)