Mark Doyle: A two track approach.

The meeting was held in the Ivory Coast capital, Abidjan, at the request of Nigeria, which leads the West African military intervention force, Ecomog.

Ecomog troops are defending President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah's government in Sierra Leone.

Delegates included key West African foreign ministers, the Ecomog commander in Sierra Leone, the UN special representative there and the ambassadors of the two western countries most influential in Freetown, the UK and the US.

President Kabbah - offered to negotiate

The BBC correspondent in Abidjan, Mark Doyle, says that the good turn-out for the meeting reflects the gravity of the situation in Sierra Leone.

Fighting was reportedly continuing on Monday in the central town of Makeni, where rebels claimed to have captured the town from Ecomog forces.

Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister Sam Banya said all of Makeni's several thousand residents had fled.

Mr Banya also claimed that the rebels were supported by mercenaries recruited from Liberia, Burkina Faso and the Ukraine.

"We have strong evidence that Liberia is helping the rebels and they have also hired these foreign mercenaries who are the reason for the recent attacks," he said.

Lansana Kouyate, general secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), which directs Ecomog operations in Sierra Leone, called for further troop reinforcements from West African countries.

Mr Banya told reporters that two battalions of Nigerian soldiers flew into Freetown late on Sunday night to reinforce Ecomog.

Several hundred Gambian troops were also expected to join the force and other West African nations also pledged troops, but so far only Nigeria has provided soldiers in significant numbers.

Although the rebels were not invited to the meeting, Mr Kouyate stressed that Ecowas was also trying to open a dialogue.

President Kabbah's government had already offered to negotiate with the rebels and proposed an amnesty for their troops on the condition that they lay down their arms, but the rebels have rejected talks and vowed to storm the capital, unless Mr Kabbah resigns.