Liberian Peace Talks Resume

Liberian peace talks have resumed in Ghana after West African mediators secured a cease-fire in Monrovia, the besieged Liberian capital. Mediators met Thursday in the Ghanaian town of Akosombo. Fighting around Monrovia had forced an interruption in the talks for almost one week.

The mediators say the government of President Charles Taylor and rebel factions now on the outskirts of Monrovia have agreed to sign a truce by the end of the week. The fighting has sent more than 100,000 refugees streaming into the capital. The Akosombo talks are aimed at ending Liberia's latest civil war, now in its fifth year.

However, President Taylor says the Liberian peace process has no chance of succeeding unless a U.N. backed war crimes court drops an indictment against him for crimes against humanity.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone, which issued the indictment last week, accuses Mr. Taylor of sponsoring rebel groups which committed atrocities during that country's 10-year civil war.

The United Nations and Western governments say Mr. Taylor has amassed a fortune by fomenting regional instability in West Africa. Mr. Taylor has dismissed the accusations as utter nonsense.