Taylor says Guinea should tackle Liberian rebels

MONROVIA, Aug 31 (Reuters) -- Liberian President Charles Taylor on Thursday urged his Guinean counterpart Lansana Conte to tackle Liberian dissidents based in his country.

Liberian government forces have been battling rebels in the north of the country since they crossed from Guinea about seven weeks ago. Most of the fighting has taken place in the Voinjama area, provincial capital of Lofa County

"I do not have a problem with Lansana Conte personally. We can engage Guinea in dialogue to put a halt to the bust up. This government does not have a problem with Guinea," Taylor said on state radio.

"There is a need for the Guinean government to take the war in Lofa seriously so that its territory should not be used," he said.

Taylor, a former warlord, came to power in 1997 in elections that formally ended seven years of civil war in the West African country, founded in 1847 by freed slaves from the United States.

Taylor has linked opposition politicians and civil war rivals to the rebels.

He has accused Guinea of harboring the dissidents bent on toppling his administration, a charge Guinea rejects.

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