Liberia's main rebel faction declared a unilateral ceasefire this evening saying it would hold ire in the capital Monrovia and pull back to the besieged city's port to let West African peacekeepers deploy.
This is the fourth truce declared by rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) since a ceasefire struck with President Charles Taylor's forces in June, but none has held for long and residents of Monrovia remained wary.
Residents and military sources said fighting was continuing in Monrovia near the port and in the key city of Buchanan, where Taylor's forces were pushing back a second rebel faction called Model after it seized the timber port yesterday.
West African nations have pledged to deploy an initial force of around 1,500 peacekeepers and a Nigerian battalion is on stand-by in nearby Sierra Leone, but regional officials have insisted a ceasefire must be in place before the troops land.
Model said it had also told its troops to stop fighting but that Taylor's forces were still attacking them.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed in inch-by-inch battles for control of Monrovia's main bridges, while hundreds of thousands more have been pinned down by bullets and bombs for 11 days in a ruined city where food and water are scarce.
West African leaders are due to hold an extraordinary summit to discuss Liberia in Ghana on Thursday. Military experts are still discussing the details of deploying the Nigerian peacekeepers along a dangerous and volatile front line.
The head of LURD's delegation at peace talks in Ghana, Kabineh Ja'neh, told Reuters the rebels would pull back to Monrovia's port first and then to Po River, some 12 km (7.5 miles) beyond the city's outskirts, once peacekeepers arrive.
"We will stop fighting until the peacekeepers arrive, unless attacked by Taylor's forces," said LURD's leader Sekou Conneh.
Ja'neh said the ceasefire would last at least 48 hours and could be extended to seven days to await the peacekeepers.
Liberia's Information Minister Reginald Goodridge said the government was considering its response to the LURD statements.