Gunfire crackling behind her, Johnett Bartuae stumbled down Somalia Drive with a basket lurching on her head. Militia fighters in flip-flops ran in the opposite direction, heading for the frontline, writes Declan Walsh from Monrovia
"Rockets have been falling since morning back there. People are dying," she panted. "We are getting out." Fresh fighting again sent thousands of Monrovians sprinting for cover yesterday as clashes erupted around a number of key bridges leading to the city centre.
Heavy machinegun fire thundered and shellfire boomed as rebels tried to push President Charles Taylor's forces back into the city. By nightfall they had achieved some success.
Stray bullets zinged through half-deserted streets as ducking civilians sprinted across perilous intersections. Mortars rained down on the diplomatic district, killing 13, where only hours earlier the US ambassador put forward a peace plan.
Ambassador John W. Blaney had appealed to the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) to retreat 12 kilometres to allow African peacekeepers to deploy. The rebels replied with violence, sending a hail of gunfire across three key bridges, where government troops had apparently been preparing their own offensive.
"Why should I pull back? We'll hand over positions to the peacekeepers, not to [President Charles\] Taylor," said LURD chairman Mr Sekou Conneh.
At one point the rebels appeared to have taken Stockton Creek Bridge, which leads to the airport road and President Taylor's executive mansion. Government forces later pushed them back.
The coming week may determine if outside powers can help pull Liberia out of its blood-soaked spin into chaos. Over 2,000 US troops are due to arrive at the earliest five days from now.
However, the White House has said their mission will be "limited in time and scope", and it is not clear if they will participate in onshore peacekeeping. Neighbouring west African nations are expected to announce today the deployment of 770 Nigerian peacekeepers, the vanguard of a 3,500-strong west African force. But the details and timing of both the US and African initiatives remain unclear. And as foreign powers dither, Monrovia's humanitarian crisis deepens by the hour.
Indiscriminate LURD shelling has killed over 200 civilians and wounded hundreds more over the past week. Yesterday's influx of refugees will strain a city jammed with over one million people without food, water and electricity, and prone to a cholera epidemic.