Hopes have been raised for a respite for the million residents of Liberia's capital Monrovia, following the announcement Tuesday of a unilateral ceasefire by Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd), whose forces have been battling government troops for more than a week.
"We will stop fighting until the peacekeepers arrive, unless attacked by Taylor's forces," Lurd leader Sekou Konneh told Reuters by telephone. The fighting has created widespread suffering throughout the city, including hundreds of deaths from mortar and small arms fire, as well as disease caused by lack of access to potable water and food of any kind.
Meanwhile, the government said its forces have launched a counter-attack in the port city of Buchanan, which was seized on Monday by rebels of a second group, known as the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (Model).
Liberian Defence Minister Daniel Chea said there was street fighting in Buchanan, which was the only remaining sea port still under government control, and the country's second largest city. Chea said loyalist forces were trying to block access to fresh supplies for the Model rebels.
Since the battle for Monrovia, launched by the main rebel faction, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd), aid agencies have warned that fighting has made it difficult to get food aid to tens of thousands of refugees in and outside the capital city - through Monrovia Freeport, which has become a war zone.
"Buchanan was the only alternative way to ship some food into Liberia. Now you can forget about it," said Frederic Bardou, from the French aid agency Action Against Hunger, speaking at a feeding centre in Monrovia.
In Monrovia, Liberians are waiting expectantly for the arrival of Nigerian peacekeepers, who were expected sometime this week. The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has pledged to send a 3000-strong regional peacekeeping force.
But Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, speaking on Tuesday after a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London, would not commit to a firm date for the Nigerian troop deployment to Liberia, saying only that this could happen "within a few days".
Diplomatic negotiations between Nigeria and the United States are delaying progress. The Bush administration has committed US$10m for the initial logistics and airlifting of the Nigerian peacekeepers. But the Nigerian government says more financial and logistical assistance is needed before it can move into Liberia.
The BBCs Gavin Esler asked President Obasanjo why his country, the giant in West Africa, was failing to take the lead. Obasanjo explained Nigerias position on Liberia.
We are leading, if we are not leading we wouldnt have suggested more than three weeks ago that we have the troops ready.
But theyre not there!
Theyre not there because we havent got the capacity to do all that is necessary and we made that clear.
When you look at the situation on the ground in Liberia, you see the killings day by day - perhaps up to 1000 people killed in the past week - cholera, looting and the collapse of civil order. What does that do to you?
I think the world should have itself to blame. Wherever there is any conflict in the world and people are killing in thousands, it is the responsibility of the world as a whole. Of course, the countries of the region, or sub region, must feel concerned and must be in the vanguard.
And this is what Nigeria has done.
But, forgive me, you are not there. You have been saying you should be there, you accept a moral responsibility, yet youre not there.
We accept responsibility within the limits of our resources. And the world must know that Nigeria made a contribution to Liberia before. We spent well over US$12bn when we were in Liberia and Sierra Leone for well over 12 years (commanding the West African Ecomog peacekeeping armies). The world did not acknowledge that not even in terms of giving us debt relief for the contribution we made.
We know that there are 4500 US troops, sitting at sea off the Liberian coast, what do you want them to do?
Its not what I want them to do, what do they want to do?
Well, theyre waiting for you. Theyre saying when the West African peace force goes in, they will then be prepared to come in. They are waiting for you. Everyone is waiting for you!
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I like that! I like that! If your house is on fire and somebody says, "here I am, I have my water, my fire engine, now when you put the fire out in your house, I will come in," I wonder what sort of help that is, with all due respect.
What we are saying is give us adequate material and logistical support and we will do the job. Now, what have we got from any of these countries up till now? And we are saying, when we went there before, when we went to Liberia, nobody gave us support. And we lost well over 1000 Nigerians. As I said to you, it cost us well over US$12bn.
Now, what we are saying is that we have 2 battalions, of over 1500, ready to go in. We cannot do that alone. We will do it with our West African brothers and we will do it with the support and backing of Africa and the world. Its as simple as that.
Why have you offered safe haven to (Liberian President) Charles Taylor who is widely considered to be an international war criminal?
Because, if you do not do that to Charles Taylor, you will get what you are getting now. Charles Taylor may stay there and say he will fight to the finish. And if Charles Taylor fights to a finish, there will be no peace.
