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Rebels slow to end fight

Liberian rebels yesterday were under renewed pressure to halt fighting and join the process of political reconciliation as a deal was reached to open the capital's port to urgently-needed food and medical aid.

The day following the Monday resignation as president and departure for exile of Charles Taylor was marred by renewed fighting in the second port city of Buchanan between government forces and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, a smaller rebel group based in the country's south.

The exit of former warlord Taylor for exile was hailed by African and world leaders as an opportunity to end 14 years of bloodshed in Liberia, but the main rebel group on Tuesday rejected working with his successor, former vice president Moses Blah.

"We want to lead the interim government," Sekou Fofana, the deputy secretary general of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), said.

Fofana said LURD was unimpressed with the handover, but insisted that the rebels were already prepared to take up top government positions.

The US stepped up pressure late Tuesday on the rebels, warning that groups which continued fighting could find themselves excluded them from future governments.

"Those who are responsible for re-instigating violence clearly have no concern for the best interests of the Liberian people," deputy State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said.

"Their actions threaten further the safety and security of the Liberian people and will call into question the suitability of those responsible as partners in the future Liberian government."

The US warning was backed by the presence of some 3,000 marines on ships off the Liberian coast, which a senior defense official said could serve as a rapid-reaction force to support west African peacekeepers.

The US has however refused to commit a large number of troops as peacekeepers.

Despite their reluctance to cooperate with President Blah, LURD rebels signed Tuesday with the west African ECOMIL peacekeeping force and US officials an agreement that paves the way for the opening of the port today.

According to the terms of the agreement, the LURD promised to "grant the entry into the free port of Monrovia to ECOMIL and/or other elements of the multinational force ... and to turn over all control."
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