Government says most LURD rebels have fled Lofa

The Liberian government said on Thursday that most of the rebels who had been fighting in the northern county of Lofa had fled across the border to Guinea. Reginald B. Goodridge, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism said government troops were pursuing those still in Liberian territory near the Guinean border. "We can say for sure that we are in control of the center of Voinjama [the main town in Lofa]," Goodridge told IRIN in his office in Monrovia. "Because of the proximity of the border with Guinea, the bulk of the rebels have fled across the border. Generally the situation has improved considerably." Humanitarian sources in the capital, Monrovia, could not confirm the claims, but said fighting was reported to be continuing around the towns of Kolahun and Voinjama. They said newly displaced people were reported to be moving away from the area towards neighbouring Bong County. Voinjama, 270 km north of Monrovia, has served as the headquarters of the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), which has been fighting to topple President Charles Taylor since 1998. News agencies quoted the rebel group on Wednesday as saying the town was still in its hands. Local media in Monrovia reported on Friday that LURD fighters had crossed into Guinea with heavy weapons and were living mainly in the southern Guinean areas of Macenta and Nzerekore, but humanitarian sources said this could not be confirmed. Goodridge told IRIN Liberia's government hoped the rebels would join ongoing national reconciliation efforts. "We are now in a much stronger position but are open to negotiations with them," he said. LURD has repeatedly ruled out negotiations with Taylor’s government. For a long time, Liberia and Guinea had accused each other of supporting dissidents opposed to their governments. However, in February this year the presidents of the three countries went to Rabat, Morocco, for a meeting brokered by King Mohammed VI. They were to have reviewed the process launched in Rabat on 20 June but that meeting did not take place. Goodridge said the issue of fighters who had fled to Guinea would be discussed with the Guinean authorities. "We are pursuing the Rabat process and have seen a shift in the policy of the Guinean authorities since the meeting in Morocco," he said. "Relations with Sierra Leone are now excellent and dozens of rebels have been disarmed in that country," he added.