A fierce rebel offensive brought chaos and bloodshed to the Liberian capital Monrovia yesterday as a barrage of shellfire killed more than 60 civilians and sent thousands scurrying for shelter, writes Declan Walsh from west Africa.
Mortars pounded the city throughout the afternoon as the rebels intensified efforts to oust embattled President Charles Taylor.
The US sent at least 21 heavily armed marines to reinforce security at its embassy complex. They landed amid a hail of shelling in a combat helicopter that evacuated about 30 US citizens, aid workers and journalists.
One shell hit an embassy building but injured nobody. On the streets outside, anti-American sentiment ran high.
Furious Liberians dumped the mutilated bodies of 18 shelling victims in front of the embassy gates in protest at President Bush's failure to send up to 2,000 US peacekeepers.
"If they do not value our lives, and come and help us, then they should just leave," said one member of the crowd, Mr Josiah Dogbah.
This is the third time in six weeks the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebels have tried to take the seaport capital.
After punching through key city defences on Saturday, they were repelled by the government on Sunday. It was not immediately clear which side was responsible for yesterday's shelling. Combat in Liberia, which has been embroiled in violence for 14 years, usually results in far more civilian than military casualties.
Drugged-up teenagers armed with AK-47 rifles, some wearing women's dresses and wigs, make up a large proportion of the combatants on both sides.
Across the city, the death toll steadily rose. At least 18 people died when a shell hit their house in one neighbourhood; at the John F. Kennedy Hospital, the Red Cross reported another 27 deaths.
A US correspondent with Newsweek magazine was injured by shrapnel in the port area and evacuated to the US embassy. His condition was said to be stable.
Peace efforts being conducted in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, appear to have all but failed.
Yesterday the rebels insisted their offensive aimed only to force President Taylor, who is wanted on international war crimes charges, from power.
"We're not trying to do a military takeover," said LURD delegate Mr Joe Wylie. "But we can help to speed things up."
Liberians have repeatedly pleaded with the US to send troops to stabilise the situation but Mr Bush has stalled on making a decision. He insisted that Mr Taylor must leave office first, and sent 32 military specialists on an assessment mission. Their report, submitted last week, has not been released.
Over the weekend US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ordered another 4,500 soldiers, currently stationed off the Horn of Africa, to sail towards Liberia. However, they are not expected to arrive for at least a week, and what role they will play remains unclear.