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Liberia's Taylor vows to fight to the end
Saturday, July 19, 2003 Posted: 9:18 PM EDT (0118 GMT)
MONROVIA, Liberia (CNN) -- Liberian President Charles Taylor vowed to fight "to the end" as rebel forces advanced on the capital Saturday.
Taylor told a television reporter he would fight until "the hooligans are driven out of town" and said he has ordered his men to go house to house to make sure the city is safe.
He said he would not leave the country before an international peacekeeper force arrived.
Heavy fighting raged on the outskirts of the city. CNN Correspondent Jeff Koinange, who was on the scene, said rebels were within minutes of the government house and that resistance was very light.
Forces from Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, the main rebel group, were fighting for a key bridge from Freeport to the central part of Monrovia after taking another bridge earlier.
The bridge was one of the last defense lines of the government troops. Many government soldiers were seen retreating from Freeport.
Patrick Robert, a French freelance news photographer on assignment for Time magazine, was shot in the chest in the fighting for the bridge. He was at a Red Cross trauma unit after being treated at the U.S. Embassy. His wounds were life-threatening, a Time spokesman told The Associated Press.
The relentless advance came as the LURD leadership in Ghana -- where Liberian peace talks have been taking place -- said it was not interested in advancing into the center of Monrovia but only defending positions government forces were attacking.
Heavy gun and mortar fire were heard around the sprawling, chaotic city. Injured Liberians were being carted in wheelbarrows to hospitals staffed by nongovernmental organizations.
Liberian Defense Minister Daniel Chea discounted a rumor an Economic Community of West African States peacekeeping force was in the city.
Recent fighting -- which followed a "few days of tense calm" -- prompted thousands of Liberians to flee to Monrovia's city center.
The United Nations described the capital city as "already overflowing with thousands of frightened people displaced by months of fighting between rebels and government forces."
A U.S. Embassy official advised American citizens to seek safe haven at the embassy. The embassy staff reported small arms fire outside the compound.
U.S. Ambassador John Blaney issued a statement late Saturday that blamed the attacks on LURD. He urged the rebels to halt their advance and asked all parties to cease fire.
"The world is watching the way you conduct yourself now, and the United States expects you to make every effort to ensure the safety of civilians," Blaney said. "In that regard, I also call upon the LURD to avoid reprisal. Liberia does not need that kind of experience."
Blaney especially urged the rebels to respect the rights of non-Liberians, many of whom he said are in the country to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
The United States, Blaney said, expects LURD to return to the Accra talks "regardless of the military situation."
"Any lasting peace must be based upon a broad political understanding, and fighting government forces in Monrovia does not change that fact," Blaney said. "The United States will continue to push for peace in Liberia and to assist the people of Liberia toward a better future."
U.S. forces move closer
A three-ship U.S. naval task force carrying some 2,200 Marines has been ordered to sail from the east coast of Africa to the Mediterranean Sea in case President Bush orders peacekeeping troops into the West African country settled by freed American slaves in 1822.
Pentagon officials stressed the movement was a "precautionary measure" aimed at moving the Marines into a position where they could be more quickly dispatched to the war-torn African country in the event the United States decides to support a West African peacekeeping initiative there.
A U.S. assessment has been in the country in recent days gathering information to help Bush to decide whether to commit American troops.
Liberia has been crippled by nearly 14 years of almost continuous civil war. For the past three years rebel forces have been fighting to oust Taylor, who took power in a election that followed seven years of factional conflict.
Taylor was indicted in June by a U.N.-backed court in neighboring Sierra Leone on charges he committed war crimes by supporting rebels in that country's 10-year civil war.
On July 6, Taylor accepted an offer of asylum from Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who said he would shield him from the war crimes charges -- but only if Taylor stays out of Liberian politics.
No timetable was set, however, and Taylor said he would not abandon power before the arrival of international peacekeeping forces. Bush on several occasions has called on Taylor to step aside.
U.S. presidential candidate Al Sharpton departed Saturday on a diplomatic mission to Africa and planned to meet both sides in the conflict.
The New York civil rights activist heads first to Accra where he planned to meet Sunday with Liberian opposition groups, including LURD. On Monday, Sharpton planned to visit Liberia and was scheduled to meet with Taylor.
Saturday, July 19, 2003 Posted: 9:18 PM EDT (0118 GMT)
MONROVIA, Liberia (CNN) -- Liberian President Charles Taylor vowed to fight "to the end" as rebel forces advanced on the capital Saturday.
Taylor told a television reporter he would fight until "the hooligans are driven out of town" and said he has ordered his men to go house to house to make sure the city is safe.
He said he would not leave the country before an international peacekeeper force arrived.
Heavy fighting raged on the outskirts of the city. CNN Correspondent Jeff Koinange, who was on the scene, said rebels were within minutes of the government house and that resistance was very light.
Forces from Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, the main rebel group, were fighting for a key bridge from Freeport to the central part of Monrovia after taking another bridge earlier.
The bridge was one of the last defense lines of the government troops. Many government soldiers were seen retreating from Freeport.
Patrick Robert, a French freelance news photographer on assignment for Time magazine, was shot in the chest in the fighting for the bridge. He was at a Red Cross trauma unit after being treated at the U.S. Embassy. His wounds were life-threatening, a Time spokesman told The Associated Press.
The relentless advance came as the LURD leadership in Ghana -- where Liberian peace talks have been taking place -- said it was not interested in advancing into the center of Monrovia but only defending positions government forces were attacking.
Heavy gun and mortar fire were heard around the sprawling, chaotic city. Injured Liberians were being carted in wheelbarrows to hospitals staffed by nongovernmental organizations.
Liberian Defense Minister Daniel Chea discounted a rumor an Economic Community of West African States peacekeeping force was in the city.
Recent fighting -- which followed a "few days of tense calm" -- prompted thousands of Liberians to flee to Monrovia's city center.
The United Nations described the capital city as "already overflowing with thousands of frightened people displaced by months of fighting between rebels and government forces."
A U.S. Embassy official advised American citizens to seek safe haven at the embassy. The embassy staff reported small arms fire outside the compound.
U.S. Ambassador John Blaney issued a statement late Saturday that blamed the attacks on LURD. He urged the rebels to halt their advance and asked all parties to cease fire.
"The world is watching the way you conduct yourself now, and the United States expects you to make every effort to ensure the safety of civilians," Blaney said. "In that regard, I also call upon the LURD to avoid reprisal. Liberia does not need that kind of experience."
Blaney especially urged the rebels to respect the rights of non-Liberians, many of whom he said are in the country to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
The United States, Blaney said, expects LURD to return to the Accra talks "regardless of the military situation."
"Any lasting peace must be based upon a broad political understanding, and fighting government forces in Monrovia does not change that fact," Blaney said. "The United States will continue to push for peace in Liberia and to assist the people of Liberia toward a better future."
U.S. forces move closer
A three-ship U.S. naval task force carrying some 2,200 Marines has been ordered to sail from the east coast of Africa to the Mediterranean Sea in case President Bush orders peacekeeping troops into the West African country settled by freed American slaves in 1822.
Pentagon officials stressed the movement was a "precautionary measure" aimed at moving the Marines into a position where they could be more quickly dispatched to the war-torn African country in the event the United States decides to support a West African peacekeeping initiative there.
A U.S. assessment has been in the country in recent days gathering information to help Bush to decide whether to commit American troops.
Liberia has been crippled by nearly 14 years of almost continuous civil war. For the past three years rebel forces have been fighting to oust Taylor, who took power in a election that followed seven years of factional conflict.
Taylor was indicted in June by a U.N.-backed court in neighboring Sierra Leone on charges he committed war crimes by supporting rebels in that country's 10-year civil war.
On July 6, Taylor accepted an offer of asylum from Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who said he would shield him from the war crimes charges -- but only if Taylor stays out of Liberian politics.
No timetable was set, however, and Taylor said he would not abandon power before the arrival of international peacekeeping forces. Bush on several occasions has called on Taylor to step aside.
U.S. presidential candidate Al Sharpton departed Saturday on a diplomatic mission to Africa and planned to meet both sides in the conflict.
The New York civil rights activist heads first to Accra where he planned to meet Sunday with Liberian opposition groups, including LURD. On Monday, Sharpton planned to visit Liberia and was scheduled to meet with Taylor.
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