In a joint statement late Wednesday, the European Union, United States and UN missions in Liberia said that hostilities between the rebels and government troops "have put the people in the midst of a humanitarian crisis".

"The current fighting has caused tens of thousands to flee their homes and seek safety wherever they find shelter," the statement added, amid reports of clashes close to Monrovia between President Charles Taylor's troops and rebels of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).

The three missions called on the government and warring factions in the west African country to seek a negotiated settlement to the latest conflict, which began when LURD fighters launched an insurgency in 1999.

"We also request that our missions and other NGOs (non-governmental organisations) be granted access to safe corridors so that we can provide badly needed emergency relief assistance to Liberians, Ivorian refugees and third country nationals who are currently cut off from humanitarian aid," the statement added.

Clashes between LURD rebels and Taylor's troops have recently intensified, while a newly formed rebel force, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) has begun fighting in the south, pressing through to the port of Greenville.

LURD rebels have brought the war as close as 10 kilometres (six miles) from the capital Monrovia, while MODEL, members of the late president Samuel Doe's Krahn ethnic group, have opened several other fronts close to the Ivorian border.

SPACE.WIRE