Fighting resumes in Lofa county

Fighting between Liberian rebels and pro-government forces resumed at the weekend in northern Liberia, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.

The fighting occurred when the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebel group, which has been fighting to topple President Charles Taylor since 1998, staged an attack in Lofa County a week after the government announced that it was fully in control of the area, the sources told IRIN from the capital, Monrovia.

It was too early to determine the extent to which the renewed hostilities would displace people, the sources said.

Last week, the World Food Programme said the number of internally displaced persons in Totota and CARI - camps on the outskirts of Monrovia - had reached 183,900. "Should movement intensify it might result in a dramatic explosion of the current caseload," it said, adding that food harvests which normally started in October were expected to be poor this year because fighting had disrupted farming.

News agencies reported Taylor as telling a news conference on Monday in Monrovia that the LURD had launched a "major counter-offensive" on the northern towns of Kolahun, Foya, Voinjama and the northwestern provincial towns of Fassama and Gorlu.

"A new threat has been encountered by government troops since the beginning of the dry season. Over the past week, government positions have been receiving sustained attacks from LURD forces," Taylor was quoted as saying by the Deutsche Presse Agentur (dpa).

The dpa added that Taylor said the LURD forces had been re-armed with troop carriers, heavy guns and sophisticated weapons by the Guinean government in order to "wreak havoc on Liberian territory after government forces drove the terrorists across the border several weeks ago."

Meanwhile human rights groups in Liberia have issued a statement expressing concern about the government's continuing detention without trial of human rights activists.

A source in Monrovia told IRIN Taylor had agreed to free detained journalist Hassan Bility and others arrested on 24 June for allegedly running LURD terrorist cells, but it was not clear when they would be released.