Thousands of people in Liberia's coastal city of Greenville have fled the town in fear of rebel attacks, civilians in Monrovia have said, reports Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Many had reportedly fled into jungles after hearing that an unknown rebel group calling itself Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) had advanced to nearby Sinoe County.

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been the targets of constant harassment, intimidation and forced conscription by armed government militias at IDP camps in the western suburbs of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, displaced persons have said.

According to reports, Grody Dorbor, editor of The Inquirer newspaper, Oscar Dolo, Nyahn Flomo and William Quiwea, all local correspondents for the radio station Talking Drum Studio-Liberia, disappeared about a fortnight ago in the country's eastern and central regions, where government forces are fighting rebels, according to the World Association of Newspapers, who have written a letter to Liberian President Charles Taylor about the issue.

About 1,000 Liberian women staged a peaceful assembly before the Monrovia municipal office last Friday to demand an immediate halt to hostilities between the Liberian government and rebels.

Government and rebel groups are responsible for serious human rights abuses against civilians in western Côte d’Ivoire, and Liberian combatants are fighting on both sides, Human Rights Watch has said in an open letter to the United Nations Security Council.