Liberian President Charles Taylor renounced his pledge to cede power under a new peace accord, a defiant move that threatens to reignite Liberia's three-year civil war.
Just days after the plan got under way with a fragile ceasefire, Taylor, a former warlord indicted for war crimes, said on Friday that he intends to serve out the six months remaining in his term and may even run for re-election.
"Let nobody think that our backs are against the wall," he said.
Stung, Liberia's rebels said they would hold Taylor to his word -- by force, if necessary.
"We ... still have our arms, and if the talks fail, we have a way of pushing the Taylor government out," said Joe Wylie, a spokesman for the rebel movement Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy. The group had Monrovia encircled earlier this month in fighting that killed hundreds.
Taylor's forces -- who have lost control of all but 40 percent of war-ruined Liberia -- managed to stave off the rebels, preventing fighting from overrunning the seaside capital of 1 million.
In Washington, US Department of State spokesman Philip Reeker urged Taylor to abide by his commitment. "We believe that there's no place for Charles Taylor in a transitional government or in any future government of Liberia," Reeker said.
Liberia and the US have ties that date back to the West African nation's founding by freed American slaves in the 19th century. Liberia for decades was a leading US business partner in Africa, and strategic Cold War ally.
Taylor is widely considered as the prime culprit in 14 years of bloody conflict in West Africa. His agreement to step aside was seen as a key part of a peace accord his government signed with rebels on Tuesday, outlining a transition government that would exclude him. But his comments on Friday, on a radio and TV call-in show in Monrovia, cast doubts on his intentions to abide by any of the deal.
"The vast majority of our people, including chiefs and others, are now protesting that I can't step aside without their approval," said Taylor, who wore a safari suit with the gold seal of the state of Liberia.
Taylor said he would stay in power until the end of his term in January. He moved to extend his control even beyond the end of his term, saying on Friday that he would yield power only to a government headed by his vice president, Moses Blah.
Blah, who sat nearby nodding approval as Taylor talked, would preside over elections in the name of Taylor's National Patriotic Party at some indefinite date, Taylor said.
Taylor left open the possibility he would contest the race, saying he was still undecided.
Taylor's words drew heated challenges from listeners, who called in to accuse the president of going back on the promise he had made at the start of the June 4 peace conference for Liberia.
"I said I was `prepared' to step aside," Taylor answered. "I didn't say I was not going to run."
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