Shells Pound Capital; Civilians Seek Shelter

Shells pounded the Liberian capital and explosions and machine-gun fire echoed throughout the city in what President Charles Taylor’s forces said was a new rebel drive into Monrovia.

The fighting proved a week-old cease-fire moot. Defense officials said insurgents had crossed into the city’s western outskirts. Fighting sent families rushing to the city center for safety, streaming into neighborhoods where schools and stadiums already were packed with civilians.

In Ghana, where peace talks are being held, rebels insisted their troops were only responding to attacks by Taylor’s forces.