More US troops ordered to Liberia amid fighting

The soldiers, from a naval "anti-terrorism security team" based in Rota, Spain, are to join US Marines currently guarding the US embassy in Monrovia, the Defense Department said as it announced the move late Sunday.

There was no indication US President George W. Bush was any closer to making a decision on US participation in a peacekeeping force being considered for Liberia, despite the spiraling violence.

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The deployment was ordered by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the request of US Ambassador John Blaney, according to a Pentagon statement.

A Pentagon spokeswoman declined to provide any further details.

The move comes as Liberian government troops are locked in a fierce battle for control of the capital with advancing rebels seeking the ouster of President Charles Taylor.

On Sunday, government forces repulsed a rebel advance on two key bridges that lead to the heart of Monrovia, where many diplomatic missions are located.

However, heavy fighting continued to rage in the city center, with at least five rockets landing there in the afternoon, sparking fresh panic among desperate local residents.

The deployment order was followed by a new US government appeal to all warring parties for an immediate restoration of a short-lived June 17 ceasefire brokered by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).