The accounts as to which side fired the first shot vary considerably to this day.

Both sides have fired missiles at each other's main cities since a civil war erupted on May 5.

It was not clear which side fired the shells, Kabia said.

Both sides claimed that the other side fired first.

No one knows which side fired the first 'shot heard around the world'.

The officials did not indicate which side had fired the shells.

Conflicting testimony exists as to which side fired the first shot.

Neither side would fire a shot (both sides were armed with muskets at this point).

The exact circumstances as to which side fired the first shot are disputed by both sides.

For three hours after midnight, neither side fired a shot.