Guinea 'armed' Liberia's rebels

Rebels were allegedly supplied with mortars

New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch has accused Guinea of supplying heavy weaponry to rebels in Liberia.

HRW says Guinea broke a United Nations embargo by providing Iranian-built mortars which it alleges were used the July attack on the Liberian capital.

Mortars are notoriously inaccurate in the hands of untrained fighters and the attack left many civilian casualties.

The UN Security Council, which includes Guinea, is to review the arms embargo against Liberia on Thursday.

The sanctions are in force until May.

"It's appalling that a current member of the Security Council has flouted the arms embargo on Liberia," said Lisa Misol, arms researcher with Human Rights Watch.

"The Security Council must hold Guinea accountable for this major breach."

Former BBC West Africa correspondent Elizabeth Blunt says Guinea - Liberia's northern neighbour - has been drawn into the war in Liberia from the very start.

Mortar trial

The Human Rights Watch researchers tracked two cargo flights from Iran to the Guinean capital Conakry.

Rural reign of terror

The cargo was officially described as "technical equipment" or detergent powder, but eyewitness say the goods actually unloaded into Guinean military trucks were mortar rounds and other ammunition.

Members of Lurd told the researchers that the ammunition was then trucked over the border into Liberia for the use of their fighters.

Researchers quote one commander as saying, "Guinea saved us; without their help that monkey (Charles Taylor) would still be sitting in the Executive Mansion."

The remains of Iranian-made mortar rounds were found after the attacks on Monrovia in July.

Peace deal violation

Earlier, the top UN official in Liberia made a blistering attack on government and rebel forces engaged in fighting in the east.

In an interview with the BBC's Network Africa programme, Jacques Klein called those violating the August peace deal "thieves, murderers and criminals".

Civilians with food are targeted by gunmen in rural areas

He said that all factions were engaged in fighting, despite repeated appeals for the attacks to end.

But he said the UN could not act until it had enough troops on the ground.

"You can expect this kind of violence for the next two or three months," he said.

The UN is bringing together representatives of the two rebel factions and the government in Monrovia in the hope that they can end the fighting.

On Tuesday, Defence Minister Daniel Chea and rebel representatives flew into two northern towns - Tappita, held by the rebels, and Saclepea, held by the government - to urge both sides to withdraw from the weekend battle zones.

"We urged both sides to pull back into specific areas to disengage," Mr Chea told the Associated Press news agency.

"And the pull-back is expected to take effect within 48 hours."