World Notes LIBERIA

After nine months and more than 5,000 deaths, the civil war in Liberia sputters on. The U.S. had hoped the capture of President Samuel Doe by insurgents and his death two weeks ago would immediately lead to negotiations among rival rebels Prince Yormie Johnson and Charles Taylor, the remnants of Doe's loyal soldiers, and troops from a five-nation West African peacekeeping force.

Visiting the area last week, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Herman Cohen told Johnson and Taylor that the U.S. would sever relations with Liberia unless a truce was declared. Taylor, head of the 10,000-member National Patriotic Front of Liberia, took the hint and announced a unilateral cease- fire. But the prospect for fruitful negotiations remains dim: Taylor declared that his "government" was the only legitimate one and that he would "fight any attempt to install another one." The truce should at least afford some breathing space for the five-nation West African contingent, which has suffered from a confused chain of command.