Over the weekend the rebels tried to advance on central Monrovia on two fronts, sending more residents fleeing with their possessions. However Liberian Defence Minister, Daniel Chea told that his troops had stopped the advance and re-taken two key bridges. The city has been under mortar bombardment since Saturday, and civilian casualties are rising. Initially the rebels ? known as Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) ? tried to take Monrovia from the north. But when government soldiers blocked their progress, the rebels made their way through the suburbs, round to the south-eastern edges of the city. Chea says his forces made a stand there too. ?We have begun pushing them from two different fronts towards the port and hopefully we?ll continue that push,? he told. ?We are in firm control of the capital,? Chea added. The Defence Minister urged the rebels to halt their assault and give peace talks now going on in Ghana a chance to make some progress. Rebel commanders attending the talks say they have told their men to stop their advance, but they do not appear to be listening.

Nigeria sent troops President Taylor has accepted an offer of asylum from Nigeria ? but he refuses to stand down before the arrival of international peacekeepers. It is not clear how many people have been killed by the latest attack but hundreds have been injured. The Red Cross hospital, which treats only the worst of the war wounded, has taken in more than a hundred people in one day. In two days of similar fighting last month, 500 civilians were killed. Meanwhile United States Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has ordered the dispatch of more troops to protect the American embassy in Monrovia. An additional 41 soldiers from a naval ?anti-terrorism security team? based in Spain will join US Marines on security duty there. US ambassador John Blaney added his call for a truce, urging Lurd to halt its advance and concentrate on peace talks. Meanwhile, Nigeria has sent a small number of troops to Liberia to prepare the way for the eventual deployment of a larger West African peacekeeping force. A Nigerian army spokesman said the job of the advance party was to carry out reconnaissance. A United Nations envoy has said the US will not take a decision on whether to send troops into Liberia until a West African force is in place.