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Subject: AROUND THE WORLD=Liberian Cease-Fire Fails to Take Hold<
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 92 04:42:06 EST
Message-ID: <19.1992Nov12.044207@AmeriCast.com>

AROUND THE WORLD=Liberian Cease-Fire Fails to Take Hold<

MONROVIA, Liberia - Nigerian warplanes hammered rebel positions
around Monrovia yesterday after a cease-fire ordered by West
African leaders failed to stop fighting in Liberia's civil war.

A U.S. statement effectively called for withdrawal of the
Nigerian-dominated West African force sent to Liberia by the re-
gional ECOWAS bloc in 1990. Assistant Secretary of State Herman
Cohen, declaring that "ECOWAS is no longer a neutral party," said
Washington would push for the intervention of U.N. forces.

Officials of Liberia's interim government in Monrovia, besieged
by guerrillas of rebel leader Charles Taylor, disputed Cohen's
conclusion.

The cease-fire, due to take effect from midnight Tuesday, disap-
peared in salvos of shells. Nigerian planes were in action for
most of the day.

Tajik Government Quits<MOSCOW - Tajikistan's embattled coalition
government has resigned and left an interim council in control of
the Central Asian republic, officials and news media said.

The resignation of the cabinet and the legislative leadership
Tuesday evening appeared to represent an advance for forces al-
lied with the former Communist president, Rakhmon Nabiyev. Nabi-
yev is backed by Communist Party organs and powerful clans in
Khodzhent and Kulyab oblasts.

The coalition that quit Tuesday includes Tajik nationalists,
pro-democratic intellectuals, Islamic fundamentalists and even
some Communists. It had ousted Nabiyev in September.  Thousands
are said to have been killed and more than 200,000 driven from
their homes in civil warfare.

Russian troops became entangled in the unrest after agreeing to
enforce order and disarm militants. The Russian military com-
mander was named deputy chief of the interim council but
resigned, saying he did not want to be involved in politics.<

Violence in Kenya<NAIROBI - A top Kenyan opposition politician
was injured in an ambush north of Nairobi and police reported
five deaths in pre-election violence.

Shots were fired during an attack on Democratic Party Secretary
General John Keen, but an earlier report that he had been hit was
wrong, party chairman Mwai Kibaki said in a statement. He blamed
supporters of the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) for
the attack.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Jeremiah Matagero said five people
were killed and six seriously injured in Meru district - a Demo-
cratic stronghold - during clashes that erupted at a pro-
government rally Tuesday. He said police had opened fire to
disperse rampaging KANU supporters.<

Israel Raids in Lebanon<JERUSALEM - Israeli bombers raided what
authorities said was a Hezbollah guerrilla base in southern
Lebanon and officials ordered civilians in Israel's north to go
into underground shelters in case of reprisals.

The jets struck near Sadiqqin, seven miles north of the Israeli
border. The Israeli military said the targets were used as a
launching point for "terrorist acts."

The raid came at the end of a day in which Israel moved artillery
pieces into southern Lebanon to back threats of retaliation
against the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, whose gunners hit northern Is-
rael with barrages earlier this week in renewed hostilities. No
Hezbollah firings were reported yesterday.<02:19 11-12C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

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