Battles rage as Liberia’s Taylor prepares to leave

President Charles Taylor’s forces were battling rebels on several fronts on Sunday, a day after their leader promised to step down and ...

President Charles Taylor’s forces were battling rebels on several fronts on Sunday, a day after their leader promised to step down and just hours before African peacekeeping troops were due to deploy.

Defence Minister Daniel Chea said there was fighting in Buchanan, and in central Gbarnga, although Monrovia seemed quiet after a blistering attack by Taylor’s forces on rebels on Saturday.

Chea accused the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) of trying to undermine plans to send in regional peacekeepers. The first 300 Nigerian soldiers are due to arrive on Monday.

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Taylor’s troops launched a fierce attack on Saturday to drive rebels back from three bridges in Monrovia and retake the Port, but by the end of a torrid, see-saw day at the front, the government offensive had been repulsed. ‘‘They attempted to turn up the tempo but we kept them back. Our guys were under serious fire last night,’’ Chea said. He said government forces still aimed to seize the rebel-controlled Port and called on the international community to exert pressure on the rebels as well, saying the Port would be needed for the peacekeepers.

As Saturday’s battle raged, Taylor announced he would stepdown on August 11 — the first time he has set a definite date to hand over control of a country crippled by 14 years of almost non-stop war. (Reuters)