WORLD IN BRIEF : LIBERIA : Rebels Cross Swamp in Surprise Attack

Rebel forces stormed into the center of the capital, Monrovia, after outflanking government troops by wading through a swamp. The maneuver surprised government troops, who had been defending two bridges leading into town. The insurgents, reportedly a dissident rebel group led by Prince Johnson, laid siege to the city center and battled street-by-street with President Samuel K. Doe’s forces, many of whom were seen dropping their weapons and fleeing. Fighters of the main rebel group, Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front, were reported less than a mile from Doe’s executive mansion, where he was barricaded with about 500 elite soldiers.