Liberian rebels under pressure
2003-08-13 09:10
Monrovia - Liberian rebels were under renewed pressure on Wednesday to stop 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 after the Monday resignation and departure for exile of former president Charles Taylor was marred by renewed fighting in the second port city of Buchanan.
The clashes were between government forces and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (Model), 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, on Tuesday the main rebel group rejected working with Taylor's successor, former vice-president Moses Blah.
Sekou Fofana, the deputy secretary-general of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd), said: "We want to lead the interim government.
"We will never serve under Moses Blah."
Fofana said Lurd was unimpressed with the handover, but insisted that the rebels were already prepared to take up top government positions.
3 000 marines waiting off coast
The United States stepped up pressure on the rebels late on Tuesday, warning that groups which continued fighting could find themselves excluded them from future governments.
"Those responsible for re-instigating violence clearly have no concern for the best interests of the Liberian people," said US deputy state department spokesperson Philip Reeker.
"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 about 3 000 marines on ships off the Liberian coast.
A senior US defence official said they could serve as a rapid-reaction force to support west African peacekeepers.
However, the United States has refused to commit a large number of troops as peacekeepers.
Ragtag group of militiamen
Despite their reluctance to co-operate with President Blah, Lurd rebels signed an agreement with the west African Ecomil peacekeeping force and US officials that paves the way for the opening of the port on Thursday at noon.
According to the terms of the agreement, 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".
The pact was signed by Ecomil's Nigerian commander, General Festus Okonkwo, Lurd deputy secretary-general Sekou Fofana and the US ambassador to Liberia, John Blaney.
Okonkwo said the remnants of Taylor's forces - mainly a ragtag group of militiamen - positioned in central Monrovia would also withdraw from the area on Thursday by noon.
Lurd's Fofana said his forces would retreat to Tubmanburg, about 60km north of Monrovia.
Hunting for scarce food
Monrovia, where fighting has displaced about 450 000 people according to revised UN figures, needs its deep-water harbour more desperately than ever, for both humanitarian supplies and food, humanitarian officials said.
As the de facto ceasefire held in Monrovia, people emerged from the battle-worn city centre to hunt for whatever meagre food was available.
Taylor, indicted by a UN-backed court in Freetown for war crimes committed during Sierra Leone's brutal civil war, arrived early Tuesday in the southeastern Nigerian city of Calabar to begin a new life in exile.
However, a statement from the UN-backed Special Court in Sierra Leone Tuesday said Taylor "left Liberia as an indicted war criminal and remains an indicted war criminal".
The United States also said Taylor must face justice.
"We believe that all parties held responsible for atrocities in Sierra Leone must be held accountable," said White House spokesperson Claire Buchan.