LIBERIA: Another day of bombs and broken promises in war-ravaged Monrovia. As ever, it started with a fragile hope. At lunchtime the rebels called a unilateral ceasefire, their fourth in two months.
They would retreat from the city's hotly contested bridges to the port, the leaders said, to allow desperately needed West African peacekeepers to deploy.
"We will stop fighting until the peacekeepers arrive, unless attacked by Taylor's forces," said Mr Sekou Conneh, chairman of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).
At first he was true to his word. Calm broke out in the city centre.
Civilians timidly emerged into the streets to seek water and food. For the first time in days they did not have to duck whizzing bullets at exposed intersections.
Later in the afternoon loud cheers rang out as the story was carried on the news. But instants later, three shells slammed into the city centre, sending the throng sprinting for cover.
"People heard they agreed a ceasefire and we were jubilating. Then the rockets started falling. We thought we were a target," said Mr James Weah as he passed the heavily fortified US embassy.
Despite the rebels' history of broken pledges, there was some hope their word would stick this time. LURD has won military advances but attracted political condemnation for their relentless shelling of civilian targets.
Last night, however, there were reports the Liberian government had rejected the ceasefire saying the withdrawal to the port was not enough.
Aid workers say that over 400 people have been killed in Monrovia over the past 10 days; the government puts the toll at 1,000.
The rebels had offered to wait at the port until a force of Nigerian peacekeepers arrives. Then, they said, they would pull back to the river Po, 12 kilometres from the city. But as gunfire was reported from the bridge area yesterday evening, hopes of a retreat receded.
In London, Nigerian President Mr Olusegun Obasanjo said his troops could be in Liberia in "a few days". A 770-strong Nigerian battalion in neighbouring Sierra Leone was "combat-ready" said a UN spokesman.
However the West African mission has been repeatedly stalled by wrangles over money. So far the US has pledged $10 million, enough to pay for one week.
A possible UN military intervention remains highly unclear. Over 2,000 US soldiers are steaming towards Liberia aboard a three-ship fleet. But wary statements from Washington suggest President Bush is reluctant to commit to an onshore peacekeeping mission.
The details may be hammered out by his undersecretary of state for Africa, Mr Walter Kansteiner, who has been despatched to the area for talks with leaders. One of his stops will be Guinea, a strong US ally and the main LURD sponsor.
The US is also demanding Charles Taylor's departure as a pre-condition for deployment. As the rebels close in around him, the embattled president's options are looking increasingly limited.
Yesterday morning he sent an attack force 60 miles east to Buchanan, the port city seized on Monday by rebels from the smaller Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) group.
By evening there was no indication if the assault was successful.
MODEL, which controls most of southeastern Liberia, is considered better equipped and disciplined than the LURD. It is supported by neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire, whose leaders also want rid of Mr Taylor.
The slow pace of outside intervention is angering Liberians and the handful of remaining aid workers. "We've tried the international community. No answer. So everyone is just living on hope and trusting God," said refugee Mr Shaw Kalvin after the mortars fell last night.
Earlier, Mr Frederic Bardou of Action against Hunger stood in a feeding centre packed with emaciated infants.
"What is the international community waiting for? The final disaster? They will just arrive to collect the dead bodies," he said.