Liberian Rebels, President Sign Truce

ACCRA — Liberian rebels signed a long-awaited ceasefire with President Charles Taylor's government to end a devastating four-year civil war which has spread havoc across west Africa.

The ceasefire was signed by leaders from two rebel groups, who are said to control 12 of Liberia's 15 counties, and Defence Minister Daniel Chea in the presence of former Nigerian president Abdulsalamai Abubakar, mandated by a west African regional group to broker peace between the belligerents.

The ceremony, which took place in a luxury hotel in the Ghanaian capital Accra, was preceded by a prayer read out by a Liberian priest who congratulated the rival sides, saying: "All of you have made the impossible possible."

The truce marks the culmination of tortuous talks aimed at ending the war, brokered by the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and a UN-backed international contact group for Liberia.

Abdulsalami broke into a broad smile as the foes signed the document, saying this was "the moment we have all been waiting for."

Kabineh Ja'neh from the main rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), signed the truce on behalf of his organisation.

The LURD, which has been fighting Taylor for four years, recently launched an offensive against Taylor's government that brought rebel fighters right up to the doorstep of the capital, Monrovia. But the rebels pulled back to the edges of the city last Wednesday to pave the way for the truce.

Tia Slanger signed the agreement on behalf of the newly emerged Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), active in southern Liberia and accused by Monrovia of receiving backing from neighbouring Ivory Coast.

Monrovia has been seen an influx of tens of thousands of refugees fleeing the recent conflict on the city's outskirts. They are living in abysmal conditions amid an acute shortage of food, drinking water and medicines.

The current war began in 1999, only two years after the end of the west African country's seven-year civil war, which was marked by extremes of brutality.

Taylor was a key player in that conflict, which ended in 1997, the year he was elected president.

The conflict has spread chaos in west Africa and fuelled a humanitarian crisis both within Liberia and in nearby countries, which are struggling with their meagre resources to feed and house Liberian refugees.