Liberian President Charles Taylor has declared a state of emergency to deal with an armed rebellion.

President Taylor, in an address on state radio Friday, said that the situation requires an emergency declaration, and he said it is in line with the constitution.

Mr. Taylor criticized a U.N. arms embargo against Liberia that he said has encouraged the rebellion. The United Nations imposed the arms embargo because of Liberia's support of rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone.

The rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) is fighting the Taylor government, but the shadowy group's political agenda is not clear. The rebellion is centered in northern Lofa county, but there are indications the fighting is spreading. The government claims it has repelled a rebel attack on the town of Klay, about 40 kilometers north of the capital, Monrovia. But other reports say the rebels have captured Klay.

Thousands of people have fled the clashes to areas near the capital.

Mr. Taylor is himself a former rebel leader, who was elected in 1997 at the end of a seven-year civil war that devastated the West African nation.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AFP.

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