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Lisbon, Oct. 20 (Lusa) - Portugal has placed naval and aircraft on alert for the possible evacuation of Portuguese and other foreigners from Guinea-Bissau, Assistant Secretary for Communities Jose Lello said Monday.

He said there was no sign of panic among the estimated 150 Portuguese nationals still resident in Bissau, following the major evacuation after the rebellion erupted in June.

Lello said Portuguese Ambassador Francisco Henriques da Silva has been in contact with both the government and rebel Militaru Junta since combat renewed Sunday. - Lusa

Bissau, Oct. 20 (Lusa) - Government and rebel military forces renewed heavy fighting in the Guinea-Bissau capital for a third day Tuesday, as combat spread to two interior towns.

Thousands of Bissau residents continued abandoning the city for the relative safety of the countryside, observers said.

The Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), a co-mediator in the four-month-old conflict, appealed for a return to the cease-fire and for an urgent resumption of peace negotiations.

In Bissau, the scene of heavy gun-fire and artillery bombardments since Sunday, the fighting appeared concentrated in the eastern suburbs of Bissaque and Granja.

Reports from the central town of Bafata, the country's second biggest at 50,000 inhabitants, said the insurgent Military Junta was bombarding government positions, primarily manned by allied troops from Guinea-Conakry.

Fighting also broke out in the town of Quebo, southesat of the capital.

In a statement, the CPLP "contact group" called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the return of forces to cease-fire positions and the return to negotiations.

The CPLP also called on the co-mediators of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for "the urgent resumption" pf negotiations. - Lusa

Bissau, Oct. 20 (Lusa) - Thousand of fightened residents fled Bissau, capital of Guinea-Bissau, on Monday as loyalist and rebel forces exchanged heavy artillery fire, breaking a 13-week ceasefire.

The armed clashes begun on Sunday when forces of the country's rebellious ''military council'' and troops loyal to President João Bernardo ''Nino'' Vieira's traded machine-gun and artillery fire. The government and the military rebels headed by Brig. Ansumane Mane has agreed to ceasefire on 26 July, which ended nearly two months of heavy fighting in the former Portuguese overseas province.

The ceasefire accord, which was brokered by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), has been sporadically violated since it was signed in late July.

The conflict broke out on 7 June, when a rebel military faction seized Guinea-Bissau's main army barracks and interantional airport. The rebels have accused President Vieira of corruption and mismanagement, demanding that he resign.

The rebellion followed Brig. Mane's dismissal as army chief for his alleged involvement in arms trafficking benefitting separatists in neighbouring Senegal.

Both Senegal and the Republic of Guinea (Conakry) have sent troops to Guinea-Bissau to back up troops loyal to President Vieira. A Guinea-Bissauan ''contact group'' headed by a former prime minister Manuel Saturnino da Costa has tried to stop the latest flare-up of violence by arranging a possible meeting with the army rebels on Tuesday.

A ''national goodwill commission'' headed by the bishop of Bissau, Dom Setimo Serrazetta, has also tried to stop the fighting through continued dialogue between the warring sides. There are no reliable estimates of have many people may have killed or injured in the latest round of fighting. Lusa/Fim

Bissau, Oct. Lusa) - The commander of Guinea-Bissau's rebellious ''military council'' denied in Bissau on Sunday that his troops had violated the country's cease-fire agreement.

Commander Zamora Induta blamed government forces for Sunday's shooting in the Guinea-Bissauan capital.

A communique issued by the ''military council'' said government troops has started the incident.

Zamora said he ''categorically'' denied accusations that his forces had triggered the incident.-Lusa

Bissau, Oct. 19 (Lusa) - Machine-gun fire and explosions rocked Bissau on Sunday night, according to witness report. The shooting and explosions reportedly occured near the headquarters of the chief-of-staff of Guinea-Bissau's armed forces.

The area is controlled by forces loyal to Guinea-Bissauan President 'Nino' Vieira and troops from Senegal and the Republic of Guinea (Conakry), several kilometres from positions of Guinea-Bissau's rebellious ''military council.'' Source told LUSA there existed ''internal tensions'' among groups loyal to President Vieira. The Guinea-Bissauan government and the rebellious ''military council'' are scheduled to sign an agreement on Monday about the setting-up of a 300-metre ''buffer zone'' between the two warring sides.

A government communique described the shootings as an ''incident,'' expressing its continued readiness to sign a ''buffer zone'' agreement with the rebellious ''military council'' as on Monday as scheduled.

The radio station run by the ''military council'' did not have any immediate news reports on the shootings.-Lusa

Bissau, Oct. 16 (Lusa) - Guinea-Bissau's troubled government and the country's rebellious ''military council'' are studying proposals to set up a demilitarised zone long along the warring parties front line.

Zamora induta, spokesman for the ''military council,'' told LUSA in Bissau on Thursday the proposal emvisaged the setting-up of a ''no man's land'' between the two sides, a move that would forces by about 150 metres.

The proposals also include the creation of a group of local observers as intermediaries in possible conflict situation, as well as the nomination of a number of liaison officers.-Lusa

Bissau, Oct. 16 (Lusa) - A leading opposition force called Thursday on the United Nations to intervene in Guinea-Bissau's four-month-old conflict to avoid "imminent human catastrophe."

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Union for Change (UM) coalition, which holds parliamentary seats, criticized the deadlocked peace negotiations between the government and rebel military.

It also charged Senegalese and Guinea-Conakry troops backing the government of blocking agreed humanitarian measures, such as the reopening of the country's international airport and the creation of safe "corridors" for delivery of aid to refugees.

"In light of the impasse in negotiations and the risks of an imminent human catastrophe, it appears to us that the time has arrived, now more than ever, for the intervention of the United Nations," says the letter signed by UM secretray-general Amine Saad. - Lusa

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