Thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) fled a temporary site some 100 km north of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, on Sunday following exchanges of gunfire near the area, humanitarian sources said on Monday.

Amnesty International (AI)called on the UN Security Council to take a lead role in urging the international community to provide adequate protection and assistance to internally displaced people (IDPs) in Liberia.

Two NGOs, Action Contre la Faim (ACF) and Concerned Christian Community (CCC), have called for the relocation of thousands of internally displaced Liberians who were recently forced to flee south from the northwest regions, because of renewed fighting between disssidents and government forces. The organsations said more than 10,000 IDPs are currently living in Sawmill, Bomi County.

A Liberian general has been picked up as the capital, Monrovia, is awash with rumours of an attempted coup.

Civilians have become the main targets in the conflict between government forces and armed opposition fighters in Liberia's northern Lofa county, the global human rights body, Amnesty International (AI), said in a statement on Tuesday.

Aid workers and internally displaced people (IDPs) were forced to flee Bopolu camp on Friday after fresh fighting erupted in northwestern Liberia, humanitarian sources told IRIN on Tuesday. Diplomats in the capital Monrovia as well told IRIN that the situation in the north and northwest of the country had "worsened" since Friday.

Over the past few months, columnist Colbert King of the Washington Post had used his columns to expose Christian Broadcast Network head Pat Robertson's gold mine quest and relationship with President Charles Taylor.

Liberia's leading independent newspaper, The NEWS, has been summarily closed by the government for the second time this year, on the grounds that it has not paid its taxes. The chairman of the newspaper has been taken in for questioning.

After a prolonged silence for nearly three years, the official publication of the Press Union of Liberia is back on the newsstand. MEDIA LINE, a monthly publication, is intended to keep our members, supporters and friends abreast of what goes on in the world of Liberian journalism - it's about journalists, about the good, the bad and the ugly things as they affect our job.

The United Nations Security Council must enforce the international arms embargo on Liberia, Human Rights Watch said today.

Fighting in Liberia continues to have severe consequences for the civilian population. In late August, 2500 people arrived in Jenne Manna camp, having fled fighting in Lofa county. MSF continues to treat cases of severe malnutrition and diarrhea.

With the United Nations' embargo on Liberian diamonds impinging on revenues, the country's ruling elite has turned to Liberia's maritime registry to fund the war in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) is becoming increasingly concerned about the apparent unending paralysis of the judicial system as a result of the standoff between the House of Representatives and the Liberia National Bar Association.

In a new report issued today, ahead of a United Nations Security Council debate on Liberia this month, Amnesty International describes the continued brutal repression and use of torture, including rape, being carried out by Liberian security forces.

Any further restrictions imposed on Liberia would have more "negative impacts" on the country's already weakened economy, employment, social services and government revenue, a panel of UN experts said.

UNHCR has recorded 6,241 new Liberian refugees in western Cote d'Ivoire since early May following renewed fighting between pro- and anti-government forces in Lofa County, northwestern Liberia, a UNHCR official said.

Liberian authorities released popular talk show host Max Jlateh on Tuesday, one day after he was detained for allowing callers to express sentiments perceived by the state as "anti-American", a diplomatic source confirmed to IRIN.

A leading human rights activist in Liberia surrendered to police on Thursday, days after they had launched a search for him for criticising the country's Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), media organisations reported.

International non-governmental organisations (INGOs) have called on the international community "to recognise that there is an ongoing crisis in Liberia and the need for continued support to INGOs in emergency, reconstruction, and development activities".

Liberian President Charles Taylor announced a general amnesty on Thursday for all treason suspects abroad and anti-government dissidents in the northern county of Lofa, news media reported.