The mission is expected to prepare the ground for peace talks on Liberia, where an insurgency by rebels of the group known as Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) has escalated this year.

At its first meeting last December, the ICGL agreed to resolve the Liberian crisis through the promotion of internal dialogue among all the political groups prior to elections due in October, and good neighbourliness among the three neighbouring countries Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The three are members of the Mano River Union established in 1973 as a customs and economic union between its three member states, aimed at improving living standards.

Since it was created, however, its three member states have been wracked by conflict.

The ICGL, inaugurated last September 17 in New York, is made up of the west African regional grouping ECOWAS, the African Unon, the European Union, Ghana, Nigeria, France, the United States, Britain, the United Nations and Morocco.

Malian President Toumani Toure has agreed to host the Liberian peace talks, Monday's statement said.

SPACE.WIRE