Civilians flee Liberian rebels

Thousands of civilians are fleeing the latest fighting in northern Liberia.

Rebels shelled the regional capital, Zorzor, over the weekend and civilians have fled as far as the central town of Gbarnga.

A rebel group has been fighting in Liberia's northern Lofa County since July.

Aid workers returning from the area told journalists in the capital, Monrovia, that as many as 12,000 civilians had arrived in Gbarnga, the former stronghold of President Charles Taylor during Liberia's civil war.

Sources in Lofa County told a BBC correspondent the shelling had been from Yeala, a town near Liberia's border with Guinea.

Militarisation

They said the local military authorities had told women and children in surrounding towns to leave the area.

The military also advised aid workers not to travel outside Zorzor town.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has postponed a food convoy destined to feed more than 10,000 internally displaced people in Lofa.

Troops have been sent to the north

There has been no official comment from the Liberian Government on the latest fighting although some reports from official circles at the weekend said rebels had reached Zorzor despite strong resistance.

The Minister of Defence, Daniel Chea, and the head of the armed forces went to Gbarnga to meet President Taylor on Monday.

The Liberian Government has recently rushed additional troops to the border area, and is mobilising able-bodied men.

Eyewitnesses from Lofa County report the towns of Foya and Kolahun are heavily militarised.

Unknown rebels

The rebels' identity is unclear, though they are reported to be fighters loyal to two former Liberian civil war faction leaders, Alhaji Kromah and Roosevelt Johnson.

Alhaji Kromah and Roosevelt Johnson both fought against Mr Taylor during the civil war, which ended in 1997 with Mr Taylor's election as president.

Several militias fought Liberia's seven-year civil war

The government says the rebels are supporters of two former war lords from Liberia's seven-year civil conflict, Alhaji Kromah and Roosevelt Johnson.

It says the fighters are based in neighbouring Guinea.

Guinea denies any involvement, and a previously unheard of rebel group called Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) has claimed responsibility for attacks in the area.

At the beginning of this year, Mr Taylor invited Mr Kromah and another rival leader, George Boley, to return from exile - but made no reference to Mr Johnson.