ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, June 25 ? Fighting between government and rebel factions for control of Monrovia, the Liberian capital, erupted today, and people ran frantically through the streets in search of safety.

An unknown number were killed or wounded while seeking shelter in an American Embassy annex.

Whatever hopes had been nurtured by a cease-fire agreement brokered last week by United Nations officials in nearby Ghana were dashed.

Today, the rebel groups said they would not stop fighting until they had seized the capital, while President Charles Taylor, who last week had said he might step down in the interests of peace, urged his supporters to "fight on."

"Your survival is my survival, my survival is your survival," Mr. Taylor said over the radio, according to an Associated Press report.