"They are rebels we killed during battle," General Momoh Jibba, one of the main military aides of Taylor said, pointing to three rotting corpses lying in the mud as loyalist troops fired Kalashnikov rifles to make their presence felt.

Apart from that there were no other sounds of war in Brewerville, one of Monrovia's northwestern suburbs. But homes in the area were empty and many were pockmarked by bullets.

Taylor agreed to a ceasefire with rebel forces besieging the capital Monrovia, West African mediators said Wednesday after holding talks with the embattled president.

"We hope that the ceasefire will be signed between now and Friday or Saturday," said Ghana's Foreign Minister Addo Akufo-Addo after talks in Monrovia, adding that both sides had already agreed to stop fighting.

The announcement came after the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), fighting to oust Taylor since 1999, had been battling government troops on the edge of the seaside capital since Friday.

The LURD now controls most of the west African country where almost uninterrupted civil war since the early 1990s has left an estimated 200,000 people dead.

Meanwhile, pro-government militias and loyalist troops patrolled the Saint Paul's bridge -- one of the entry points to Monrovia controlled by the rebels earlier -- shouting: "We are freedom fighters!"

A bare-bodied combatant sporting a red bandana said: "There was fierce fighting here, but we managed to push back the terrorists, they will never pass by us."

He added: "We have pushed them back up to Klay Junction," about six kilometres (nearly four miles) away.

"It is the end of the LURD, we will kill all of them," he claimed.

"General" Benjamin Yeaten said: "The struggle will go on as the rebels carry on holding the population hostage. We have to protect our people, civilians are suffering. Unless I hear from my chiefs and leaders we will continue the struggle."

Yeaten said his forces inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy.

"Four of my men were wounded and unfortunately I lost one man. I saw 15 rebels killed."

George Sla, a fighter since the age of 13, said: "I'll fight till there is no more threat to our democracy."

Both Taylor and the rebels have been accused of widespread rights abuses including murder, rape and torture and using child fighters.

WAR.WIRE