The Liberian government says it has started transporting home thousands of civilians from the outskirts of the capital, Monrovia, who fled fighting from the country's northern region.

The government is providing trucks to carry the displaced people back to the village of Sawmill, about 100 kilometers north of Monrovia.

Sounds of gunfire outside the village sparked an exodus of at least 20,000 frightened residents from the town and nearby Tubmanburg. They gathered at Klay Junction, some 37 kilometers outside Monrovia.

Some of the fleeing people included refugees from the civil war in Sierra Leone who were living in camps in Liberia.

Government sources in Sawmill claim the army has repelled a rebel attack, but some humanitarian workers say government troops may have been fighting among themselves. Insurgents have waged a low level civil war for two years on Liberia's northern border with Guinea.

Fear of bloodshed runs high in Liberia, where up to 200,000 people were killed during seven years of civil war that ended in 1997 when Charles Taylor, a former rebel leader, was elected president.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

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