Afghanistan

Four suspected Taliban, four soldiers die in fight

Government forces fought hundreds of suspected Taliban insurgents in central Afghanistan, killing four guerrillas and arresting 13, local officials said Saturday. At least four government soldiers died.

The fighting late Friday in a mountainous district of Uruzgan province broke out after authorities launched a campaign to hunt down suspected rebels, said Abdul Rahim, a provincial government official.

Uruzgan Gov. Mohammed Khan estimated government forces fought as many as 300 suspected Taliban for about four hours before the rebels retreated into the mountains. One government soldier was also wounded, he said.

Liberia

Civilians flee to capital to avoid artillery fire

Thousands of panicked civilians toting hastily gathered possessions streamed Saturday toward Liberia’s capital, fleeing artillery explosions that West African peacekeepers said came from government militias.

Even as calm spreads in Monrovia, fighting and banditry has continued in the countryside despite a peace deal between the government and rebels. Many in the exodus on the road from Buchanan, a southern rebel-held port city, pleaded for peacekeepers to leave bases in the capital, Monrovia, and deploy throughout the country’s interior.