One of the most destructive and yet least publicized civil wars took place in the West African state of Liberia. Since the conflict began in 1989, over 150,00 people have died. More than 800,000 of the country's 2.4 million citizens have been forced into exile.
The conflict began in December 1989, when Charles Taylor founded the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) and launched an insurrection in the northern part of the county against the government of Samuel Doe. The NPFL attracted considerable support from the local population. Within a year, the rebels reached the outskirts of Monrovia, the capital city. When the Doe regime collapsed, a new government was unable to form because the NPFL could not sustain a united front. At least half a dozen armed factions emerged throughout the country, frequently dividing, regrouping and splitting up again. Few of these factions had a discernible ideology or political program. Their primary objective was the control of territory and resources.
The Liberian civil war has had an important regional impact. In terms of refugee movements, five West African states have been affected by the Liberian exodus: Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria. On the military front, neighboring states have also been affected by the war. With the apparent backing of the NPFL, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of Sierra Leone was established in 1991. The RUF contributed to the downfall of that country's government the following year. Since then, the level of disorder and violence has steadily increased in eastern Sierra Leone, where the RUF is continuing to attack the government, seeking control of some important gold, diamond and ore producing areas. As a result of this conflict, a large number of the 70,000 Liberian refugees who had previously fled to Sierra Leone returned to their homeland or moved to Guinea. Within Sierra Leone itself, some 600,000 peoples are thought to have been displaced by armed conflict and more than 300,000 have fled the country.
The Liberian conflict has been characterized by extreme violence and brutality. Civilian populations have frequently been attacked and thousands of non-combatants have been killed in the conflict. Humanitarian assistance to the victims of the war has often been blocked or diverted. Young children and adolescents have been routinely drafted into the armies of the conflicting factions and forced to commit atrocities.
Recent years have witnessed an almost constant round of diplomatic negotiations, intended to end the Liberian conflict and to install a national government. While these initiatives have led to a succession of cease fires, peace agreements, demobilization deadlines and electoral timetables, all have quickly broken down.
Many analysts question whether peace will ever be fully restored to Liberia. Prior to 1980, Liberia was marked by an absence of clear ethnic divisions and rivalry. But the country has now become so sharply divided by 15 years of human rights violations and war that there would appear to be no immediate prospect of a return to normal life. At the same time, there is a very real risk that the disorder generated by the Liberian conflict will continue to spread throughout the region, provoking further violence and population displacements.
In August 1996, a revised peace plan was signed, authorizingECOMOG to disarm combatants under the observation of UNIMIL. It provides for the disarmament of 60,000 fighters, to be followed by Presidential and parliamentary elections in May 1997. On November 28th, the Security Council unanimously extended the mission of the 23 member military observer force through March 1997. The resolution also reaffirmed the obligation of all nations to comply with the UN arms embargo against Liberia. More than 150,000 people have been killed since the civil war began in December 1989.
Source: The State of The World's Refugees 1995: In Search of Solutions. Copyright United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 1995. Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press, Inc.
