Liberian rebels have ordered their forces battling at the gates of the capital to stop fighting, a top rebel negotiator at peace talks in Ghana said today.
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Relatives of people killed earlier by mortar shells grieve yesterday while they huddle in a makeshift refugee camp at a small school in Monrovia, Liberia. More than 60 people were killed when mortars pounded the city.
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"We have given instructions to our forces to stop thefighting and have told them to exercise restraint even if thereis need for retaliation," one of the rebel LiberiansUnited for Reconciliation and Democracy told reporters in Accra.
Earlier, a mortar attack on Liberia's capital Monrovia killed at least 90 people, bringing the latest toll to over 600 deaths, according to a Liberian government minister.
Liberia's defence minister, Mr Daniel Chea, said more than 600 civilians have been killed in Monrovia in fighting between rebels and government troops during the past few days.
Aid workers in the Liberian capital said they calculatedabout 100 civilians had been killed by the mortar bombsthat hit various parts of the sprawling coastal cityas rebels fought to capture two key bridges.
Before the shelling began, US helicopters landed in the US Embassy compound, dropping off about half of a 41-member marine security team.
About 23 foreign humanitarian workers and journalists were evacuated in the helicopters - including the last seven United Nations foreign staffers, who had returned to Monrovia just two weeks earlier during a lull in fighting.
The US State Department criticised the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) for "reckless and indiscriminate shooting" and appealed to neighbouring African countries to guard against weapons going to Liberia.
US officials also announced that 4,500 more US sailors and marines have been ordered to position themselves closer to Liberia, in case of an evacuation of Americans, peacekeeping or some other mission.
"We're concerned about our people," President Bush told reporters in Crawford, Texas. He indicated he had not yet decided the size of a US force that might be sent to help a promised West African peacekeeping mission in Liberia.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan once again urged Washington and West African states to commit troops.