Culled from todays issue of The Guardian :-Tuesday May
14 2002
By;- Chris McGreal Africa correspondent

Shelling near Liberia capital Monrovia yesterday
provoked panic among residents, who feared that rebels
were about to storm the city. Tens of thousands of
people fled their workplaces for home and dragged
their children out of school as excitable government
troops tore through the streets waving weapons.
The attack by a shadowy rebel group on an area just 15
miles from the capital was the closest to date and
further evidences looming threats to president charles
Taylor's power.The defence minister Daniel Chea, said
the area under assault was Arthington, the source of
Monrovia's water supply.
At the weekend, rebels seized control of Liberia's
second capital, Gbarnga.Mr Taylor ordered the arrest
of two of his commanders for '' conniving with the
rebels'' to capture the city.
LURD is the principally made up of rebels who lost the
ethnically driven seven years civil war to Taylor in
1996.Recently, it has received support from Gunea and
pro-government militias in Sierra Leone.
Attack by LURD in recent weeks have underlined the
government's vulnerability.
Mr Taylor's problems have been compounded by UN arms
embargo, and the regime in Monrovia says it is now
severely short of weapons.

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