Troops, Rebels Battle In Liberia

Liberians in the capital fled their homes or holed up in army barracks as fighting raged Sunday between government troops and rebels.

The airport was closed during the worst fighting in the capital of this West African country in more than three years. The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that the U.N. observer mission compound near the U.S. Embassy was ransacked in the fighting. U.N. officials were not immediately available for comment.

The fighting began Saturday morning as heavily armed government troops tried to drive deposed warlord Roosevelt Johnson from his home in the eastern suburb of Sinkor.

Johnson, recently sacked as minister of rural development, is wanted on murder charges stemming from clashes that killed several people in the capital last week. His Ulimo rebel group was blamed for the violence, and Johnson had been holed up in his house with armed supporters, refusing to surrender.

The BBC reported Sunday afternoon that government troops had overrun Johnson’s home, but that he wasn’t there.

The fighting moved from the suburb to downtown Monrovia, where Johnson is believed to have escaped to join hundreds of supporters who have taken over one of the city’s main army barracks, according to the radio report.

Two other rebel factions have joined the fighting at the barracks, according to the BBC, fanning fears that the clashes will continue to escalate and a tenuous cease-fire in the six-year-old civil war will finally collapse.

The fighting prompted thousands of people Saturday to stream out of Monrovia. The streets were lined with civilians carrying bundles of clothes on their heads or cramming things into their cars.

There were reports of looting in the capital overnight and witnesses said they saw several bodies hit in the crossfire.