Liberia's armed forces have launched an offensive against rebels who are threatening to breach the capital, Monrovia. Thousands of civilians have fled the region which was ravaged by civil war during the 1990s in which up to 200,000 people were killed.
Tension has gripped Monrovia since rebels attacked the town of Kley just 35 km from Monrovia on Thursday. Bopulu, a town north of Monrovia, has been used in recent weeks as a forward base by the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).
The rebels, who threatened to attack Monrovia if President Charles Taylor didn't step down, say they are in control of much of northwestern Liberia and denied the government had the upper hand.
The government claims LURD does not have effective control of any large areas and that its forces are also fighting rebels in the northern town of Kolahun, where LURD has been active since beginning its campaign in July 2000.
Taylor's government accuses neighbouring Guinea of supporting the rebels and says its response to the attacks is hamstrung by a United Nations arms embargo.
The embargo was strengthened last year to halt a diamond-for-arms trade with Sierra Leonean rebels notorious for chopping off the legs of women and children.
The war is part of a regional conflict centred on the diamond-rich area at the junction of its borders with Guinea and Sierra Leone, where a 10-year war officially ended last month.