US MARINES protecting their embassy opened fire in Liberia's capital yesterday and sporadic shooting echoed around the city after the deadline passed for a truce promised by the dominant faction leader, Mr Charles Taylor.
Mediators focused their efforts on rallying support for a West. African summit on Liberia in Ghana tomorrow. Foreign ministers were due to meet in Ghana's capital, Accra, today.
US marines opened fire during a morning of shooting in Monrovia. "Some fire was directed at one of the marine emplacements and they did fire back", the US ambassador, Mr William Milam, said.
US marines protecting the embassy shot dead three Liberians on April 30th after a 10 day truce collapsed and the building came under fire when fighting moved close to it. Sporadic shooting continued yesterday after a midday deadline set for a truce promised by Mr Taylor, who launched the war in 1989 and whose forces have been at the centre of a month long stand off with ethnic Krahn rivals. Fighting during the morning had been more intense.
Mr Taylor, a vice chairman on the transitional ruling Council of State, announced a unilateral truce on BBC radio to coincide with the talks in Ghana.
Mr Taylor said the peace process was on track even though he would not be attending the Accra summit. He said the truce had been agreed in telephone negotiations with peace mediators from Nigeria and Guinea. Several ceasefires have come and gone. On Saturday mediators said Mr Taylor had agreed to a truce. He promptly denied it.
Freed American slaves set up Liberia as Africa's first independent republic in 1847. The war has killed more than 150,000 people, driven over half the pre war population of 2.5 million from their homes and wrecked the economy.
Sunday saw some of the worst fighting since battles broke out a month ago between Mr Taylor's men and ethnic Krahn fighters loyal to Mr Roosevelt Johnson, who was flown out of Monrovia by the Americans and who is already in Accra.
Mr Johnson's fighters broke out of Monrovia's main barracks on Sunday to attack forces loyal to Mr Taylor and fires started during vicious fighting. Mr Johnson's men killed five of their foes by shooting them or cutting their throats. Mr Taylor's men milled around the Mamba Point diplomatic area yesterday, loading their weapons and cleaning their stolen ears.
Small arms fire and the occasional mortar could be heard from the eastern end of the city.
Fighting broke out on April 6th when the ruling council and gunmen loyal to Mr Taylor and the council vice chairman, Mr Alhaji Kromah, tried to arrest Mr Johnson for murder.
The Americans, who have an amphibious battle group off Monrovia, airlifted out more than 2.000 foreign nationals early in the fighting.
Thousands of Liberians are trying to flee by sea. About 2,000 people fled the burning city on Sunday on a rusting, overloaded Nigerian freighter.