Rebel split on new Liberia leader

All parties agreed on Gyude Bryant'a appointment

One of Liberia's two main rebel groups has denied signing a statement calling for transitional leader Gyude Bryant to stand down.

Earlier it was reported that both groups - Lurd and Model - had issued a joint statement.

A Model official said it wanted Mr Bryant to stay despite accusations that he was not being transparent.

The disagreement comes only months after a peace deal was signed ending more than 10 years of civil war.

A Liberian Government spokeman rejected the call for Mr Bryant to resign, saying he was one of the few politicians who had stood up to the previous leader, Charles Taylor, who is in exile in Nigeria.

At last year's peace talks between both rebel goups, loyalists of Mr Taylor and the civilian opposition, all parties agreed on Mr Bryant as the leader of a transitional power-sharing government tasked with organising elections.

The United States says it will not support any attempt to replace Gyude Bryant.

US ambassador to Liberia John Blaney warned the rebels not to undermine the current peace process, saying it was the last opportunity for Liberia to achieve stability.

Some 8,000 United Nations peacekeepers are slowly expanding the areas where they operate but much of the country remains under rebel control.

Unmil was due to resume the process of disarming the 40,000 militia fighters earlier this month but this has been postponed by a month.