Rebels open second front in battle for Monrovia

Liberian rebels opened a second front in their assault on the capital Monrovia on Monday as a French warship evacuated several hundred foreign residents by helicopter from the European Union mission and the price of food and fuel on the black market soared. Heavy fighting between government forces and fighters of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebel movement continued during the morning on the western outskirts of the city. Forces loyal to President Charles Taylor moved in heavy artillery as they tried without success to dislodge LURD fighters from the Duala Town suburb, about eight km from the city centre. Fighting died down after mid-day, but residents said they saw LURD fighters moving through the swamp that borders Monrovia to the north, to open a new front on the eastern side of the city. Relief workers in neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire who were in radio and telephone contact with colleagues in Monrovia later reported an outbreak of shooting in the eastern suburb of Paynesville. Monrovia city centre remained shuttered up, with no water or electricity and all petrol stations closed. The price of a 50 kg bag of rice on the black market nearly doubled from US$ 20 to between $30 and $40, while the price of a gallon of petrol shot up from US$3 to US$7. With no water running in the taps people were forced to rely on wells, many of which were contaminated. The only place to buy goods openly was from a handful of market stalls and petty traders plying the streets with handcarts. IRIN's correspondent in Monrovia warned of an impending food crisis in the city of nearly one million people if the situation continued to deteriorate. "People will soon die of starvation," he said. President Charles Taylor postponed a planned cabinet meeting because of the crisis. Meanwhile, an emergency debate in parliament was cancelled because not enough deputies turned up to constitute a quorum. The 100,000 residents of camps for displaced people on the outskirts of Monrovia who fled to the city centre when the rebel push on the city began last week, continued congregating at schools in the city centre and the Samuel Doe sports stadium to seek shelter. More than 5,000 gathered at the sports stadium, where they were issued with a food ration of five cups of rice each. Police ambulances meanwhile ferried a steady flow of dead and wounded government soldiers and militiamen from the front line to Monrovia's John F Kennedy hospital and another medical facility at the executive mansion, the official residence of the president. Officials refused to give details of casualties. Despite a warning by Taylor that any looters would be dealt with "drastically" government fighters continued pillaging houses near the front line whose inhabitants had fled. An eyewitness reported widespread looting in the Jamaica Road area near the port. But security in the port itself was tight and a private security firm continued to protect warehouses there.