War Is Boring

 Part II of a series on West Africa by contributor Kevin Knodell.

Liberia has a long, complex history as a country founded by freed African American slaves. To explain the history of the country would take a book (and there are MANY on the subject). However I will attempt to explain recent events in a condensed manner, starting with the Presidency of Samuel Doe.

Under Doe’s leadership, ethnic tensions escalated due to his blatant favoritism toward his own Krahn ethnic group, and his brutal suppression of opposition. In 1989, an Americo-Liberian named Charles Taylor, a one time ally of Doe’s, led the UPFL (United Patriotic Front of Liberia) in an uprising. Doe was ousted from his seat of power, and in the chaos was captured by forces loyal to Warlord Prince Johnson in Monrovia. Doe’s brutal execution was videotaped and widely broadcast. In the aftermath of the uprising, the country divided into numerous ethnic factions and gangs, resulting in widespread violence, rape, and looting.

One of the most infamous figures of this period was the warlord Milton Blahyi, known as General Butt-Naked, who led the “Butt-Naked” brigade. Charging into battle wearing nothing but ammunition packs and AK-47s, the Butt-Naked brigade developed a fearsome reputation for brutality, and is estimated to have killed near 20,000 people. It was also infamous for acts of ritual human sacrifice and cannibalism to gain strength for battle

The threat of violence spreading to neighboring countries prompted ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) to form ECOMOG (The ECOWAS Monitoring Group) to intervene. ECOMOG was a military force primarily comprised of and funded by Nigerians. The mission was wracked with unforeseen problems. Confusion over the mandate, poor logistics, and rushed deployment caused early failures. Also, different ECOWAS states funded and supported different factions in the country, even as ECOMOG troops were in harm’s way.

Eventually a cease fire was put in place, and elections were overseen by the United Nations peacekeeping mission, UNOMIL (1993-1997), along with a contingent from ECOWAS. Taylor won a large majority of the vote, under the infamous slogan “He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him.”  The widely accepted explanation for these results is that Liberians feared that if Taylor lost the election, he would resume the civil war.

Regardless, Taylor’s regime was a catalyst for continued instability, not just in Liberia, but in West Africa as a whole. He was involved in the illicit trading of drugs, weapons, and conflict diamonds and was involved in supporting rebel movements in neighboring countries, most notably the infamous RUF (Revolutionary United Front) in Sierra Leone. It is also alleged that he engaged in dealings with Al Qaeda operatives.

Domestically, he made minimal investment in rebuilding the country’s infrastructure or addressing unemployment. He also ran down the Armed Forces of Liberia, letting go 2,400-2,600 former personnel, many of whom were Krahn brought in by Doe, in January 1998. He instead focused building up instead the Anti Terrorist Unit (ATU), the Special Operations Division of the Liberian National Police, and the Special Security Service, which guards Liberia’s presidents.

(To be continued in Part III tomorrow.)

(Photo: Creative Commons)

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