MONROVIA, Nov 1: Fourteen people were confirmed dead, 205 injured and 250 arrested during week-end riots between Muslims and Christians in Monrovia, Information Minister William Allen said on Monday.

Mr Allen said the material damage could not yet be estimated, Adding however that five churches and two mosques had been burnt to the ground.

"We can evaluate losses in terms of the peace dividend and destruction of businesses," Mr Allen told journalists.

Former Nigerian head of state Abdul Salami Abubakar, who is the main negotiator in the peace process, said the riots were regrettable. He spoke on his arrival Sunday in Monrovia to monitor progress in the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA).

About 250 people have been displaced as a result of the riots, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Abubakar said it was an "unacceptable diversion which will erode the confidence of the international community".

Meanwhile, calm has returned to Monrovia following the overnight arrests of about 100 armed former fighters of the rebel movement Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).

They were detained in the home of former LURD General Phillip Kamara in a suburb of Jacob Town, which is considered a stronghold of the ethnic Mandingo group.

Kamara is still at large, but his bodyguards are said to have committed atrocities in the region where at least two Christians were killed Sunday on their way to Church.

A huge cache of arms belonging to Mandingoes was found on Sunday evening in the northeastern suburb of Sinkor Airfield. Details of the cache have not been disclosed.-dpa