Gunfire and explosions rattled Monrovia's northwestern outskirts on Tuesday, even as international officials tried to broker a truce in fighting between Liberia's weakened government and rebels bearing down on the capital.
Liberians fear a bloody battle for Monrovia, a city of 1 million, which was repeatedly overrun by faction fighting during the west African country's last seven-year civil war.
Frightened residents took advantage of a brief lull in fighting on Tuesday morning to line up in front of tiny, ramshackle stores, clearing shelves of bread, milk and sugar in a diplomatic quarter from which more than 500 foreign nationals were evacuated the previous day.
"It's no time to be choosy," said Sarah Menoh, 41, as she queued patiently for her chance at one store's dwindling stocks. "Whatever can enter the stomach is good to have."
Sounds of fighting broke out again in the afternoon, sending people racing back to their homes. Residents reached by telephone in Monrovia's northwestern suburbs said they could hear the rattle of small-arms fire and intermittent explosions.
"If we go on like this for more than two weeks, the suffering will become untold," said James Kollie, 35. "Our actual plight seems to be unheard of outside of Liberia."
The government claimed to have repelled the latest in a series of rebel pushes into the city.
Defense Minister Daniel Chea said his troops again controlled the bridge over the St. Paul's River, marking Monrovia's outer boundary. But fighting continued in nearby Brewerville, less than 20km from downtown Monrovia.
Fighting has raged for five days on Monrovia's outskirts, causing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. Camps housing more than 100,000 people displaced by earlier rounds of fighting have been overrun by the insurgents.
Chea said about 25 government soldiers and 70 rebels were killed in the clashes, which also claimed the lives of scores of civilians. The figures could not be independently verified.
Peace negotiations in Ghana between the government and two rebel groups have been postponed, but top international mediators were expected in Liberia late Tuesday to meet with President Charles Taylor.
On Monday, the mediators flew to neighboring Guinea to meet with members of Liberia's main rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy.
It was not immediately clear whether that meeting took place. But on Tuesday, they met with Guinean President Lansana Conte, accused in a recent UN report of supporting the insurgents.
In Monrovia, US Ambassador John Blaney met with Taylor on Tuesday to press international demands for a truce so talks can proceed.
"We discussed the urgency of stopping the fighting," Blaney said. "I'm hopeful after this meeting and pretty confident that the government of Liberia is going to move forward now with alacrity and commitment at the peace table."
Chea said he was preparing to return to Ghana on Wednesday for the resumption of negotiations to end the fighting.
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