The United States and the United Nations have welcomed a peace agreement ending the four-year civil war in Liberia.
The deal was signed in Ghana last night by the government led by President Moses Blah and rebel groups that control more than three-quarters of the country.
It follows the departure into exile last week of the former president, Charles Taylor.
Under the terms of the deal, Mr. Blah will step down in October and an interim government will guide Liberia to elections by 2005.
The news was greeted with relief in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, where 2,000 people died in the most recent violence before the deployment of West African peacekeepers, backed by US Marines.
In Washington, the White House said it expected all parties to abide by the terms of the deal.
The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, called for international support for Liberia.
