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Liberia fighting continues

MONROVIA (Liberia) JULY 24. Rebels and Government forces battled with guns and grenades at Monrovia's strategic port on Thursday, while West African leaders insisted they were speeding the first peacekeepers to stop fighting in the refugee-crowded capital.

Despite the duels at the port and sporadic explosions and gunfire through the night, rebels said they were putting in place a ceasefire they had promised since Tuesday. "It takes a couple of days for the fighting to calm down," a rebel leader, Charles Benney, said over telephone.

"We don't want to take the country by force. We want to do it by negotiated settlement ... a military takeover isn't in anyone's interest," said Mr. Benney, member of a 3-year rebel campaign that has pushed the President, Charles Taylor, into a last stronghold, Monrovia's besieged, densely populated downtown area.

Fighting since last Saturday has killed hundreds of civilians, leaving bodies lying in the streets. — AP

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