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98-621: During the First Liberian Civil War , the portion of the river near the city of Cestos was a leading food and mineral extraction region for the National Patriotic Front of Liberia . 5°27′N 9°34′W  /  5.450°N 9.567°W  / 5.450; -9.567 This article related to a river in Liberia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to

196-533: A militia that was formed by the first black colonists from the United States. The militia was first formed when in August 1822 an attack was feared on Cape Mesurado (where Monrovia now is) and the agent of the settlements directed the mobilization of all "able-bodied males into a militia and declared martial law." By 1846, the size of the militia had grown to two regiments. Following independence in 1847,

294-523: A cease-fire. At the beginning of September 1995, Liberia's three principal warlords – Taylor, George Boley and Alhaji Kromah  – made theatrical entrances into Monrovia. A ruling council of six members under civilian Wilton G. S. Sankawulo and with the three factional heads Taylor, Kromah and Boley, took control of the country preparatory to elections that were originally scheduled for 1996. Heavy fighting broke out again in April 1996. This led to

392-487: A ceasefire in 1995 but fighting continued until a peace agreement between the main factions occurred in August 1996. Taylor was elected President of Liberia following the 1997 Liberian general election and entered office in August of the same year. The First Liberian Civil War killed around 200,000 people and eventually led to the involvement of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and

490-470: A coup on April 12, 1980. The group was made up of Master Sergeant Samuel Doe , two staff sergeants , four sergeants , eight corporals , and two privates . They found President Tolbert sleeping in his office in the Executive Mansion and there they killed him. While then-Sergeant Thomas Quiwonkpa led the plotters, it was the group led by Samuel Doe that found Tolbert in his office, and it

588-486: A large rebel force led by Prince Johnson's INPFL also arrived and attacked Doe's party. Doe was captured and taken to the INPFL's Caldwell base. He was brutally tortured before being killed and dismembered. His torture and execution was videotaped by his captors. Johnson's INPFL and Taylor's NPFL continued to struggle for control of Monrovia in the months that followed. With military discipline absent and bloodshed throughout

686-614: A result of American arms sales, by the 1920s Liberian forces were equipped with the American Krag and Peabody rifles, as well as German Mausers . U.S. Army Forces in Liberia commanded by Brigadier General Percy Lee Sadler also established an officer candidate school during the later part of World War II, using instructors selected from the American troops in the country. The school conducted two courses and graduated nearly 300 new officers. Just under twenty years later in 1964,

784-1136: A river in Guinea is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Ivory Coast is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . First Liberian Civil War NPFL victory [REDACTED] Liberian government [REDACTED] ULIMO (1991–1994) [REDACTED] LPC (1993–1996) [REDACTED] LUDF (later becoming ULIMO ) [REDACTED] LDF (1993–1996) Supported by: ECOMOG ULIMO: [REDACTED] Alhaji Kromah (ULIMO-K since 1994) [REDACTED] Roosevelt Johnson (ULIMO-J since 1994) [REDACTED] Raleigh Seekie   † [REDACTED] General Butt Naked (ULIMO-J since 1994) [REDACTED] Jungle Jabbah (ULIMO-K since 1994) LPC: [REDACTED] George Boley LUDF: [REDACTED] Albert Karpeh   † FDL: [REDACTED] Francois Massaquoi Foreign support: [REDACTED] Sani Abacha The First Liberian Civil War

882-566: A very brutal and scorched-earth fashion which quickly alienated the local people. Taylor's support rose rapidly, as the Mano and Gio flocked to his National Patriotic Front of Liberia seeking revenge. Many government soldiers deserted, some to join the NPFL. The inability of the AFL to make any headway was one of the reasons why Doe changed his field commander in the area five times in the first six months of

980-777: Is depicted below, and the Liberian Coast Guard. Until 1980, by law every able-bodied male between the ages of 16 and 45 years was to serve in the militia, though this stipulation was not enforced. On January 26, 1957, the Liberian Legislature set aside Feb 11, 1957, as Armed Forces Day. Speaking in 2012, Jonathan B. B. Hart, the Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Liberia recalled that "..the Sierra Leoneans were sent to Liberia to take over

1078-479: Is followed by Ruth Perry as chairwoman of the ruling council, who served until 2 August 1997. Simultaneous elections for the presidency and national assembly were finally held in July 1997. In a climate hardly conducive to free movement and security of persons, Taylor and his National Patriotic Party won an overwhelming victory against 12 candidates. Assisted by widespread intimidation, Taylor took 75 per cent of

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1176-643: Is not new." At the start of the 1960s, Liberia dispatched troops, including a movement control unit, to support ONUC during the Congo Crisis , and were airlifted into the Congo by the United States Air Force. The Liberian troops were initially in Équateur province . In 1961, during their first combat action in the country, 300 Liberian troops repelled an attack by 5,000 Baluba tribesmen and their European officers. The National Guard

1274-557: The Gallinas territory to punish Liberians there who persisted in slave trafficking. On February 6, 1908, the militia was established on a permanent basis as the 500-strong Liberian Frontier Force (LFF). The LFF's original mission was "to patrol the border in the Hinterland [against British and French territorial ambitions] and to prevent disorders." The LFF was initially placed under the command of British Major MacKay Cadell , who

1372-493: The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). They invaded Nimba County on 24 December 1989. The Liberian Army retaliated against the whole population of the region, attacking unarmed civilians, mainly of the Mandingo tribe, and burning villages. Many left as refugees for Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, but opposition to Doe was inflamed. Prince Johnson , an NPFL fighter, split to form his own guerrilla force soon after crossing

1470-747: The United Nations . The peace lasted for two years until the Second Liberian Civil War broke out when anti-Taylor forces invaded Liberia from Guinea in April 1999. Samuel Doe took power in a popular rebellion in 1980 against the Liberian Government, becoming the first Liberian President of non Americo-Liberian descent. Doe established a military regime called the People's Redemption Council and enjoyed support from Liberian ethnic groups who were denied power since

1568-462: The rebel siege on Monrovia and exiled Charles Taylor to Nigeria until he was arrested in 2006 and taken to The Hague for his trial. By the conclusion of the final war, more than 250,000 people had been killed and nearly 1 million displaced. Half that number remain to be repatriated in 2005, at the election of Liberia's first democratic President since the initial 1980 coup d'état of Samuel Doe. Former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , who initially

1666-626: The 1st Infantry Battalion, to Nimba in December 1989-January 1990, apparently under then-Colonel Hezekiah Bowen. The AFL acted in a very brutal and scorched-earth fashion, which quickly alienated the local people. The rebel assault soon pitted ethnic Krahn sympathetic to the Doe regime against those victimized by it, the Gio and the Mano. Thousands of civilians were massacred on both sides. Hundreds of thousands fled their homes. The Monrovia Church massacre

1764-476: The AFL has received considerable materiel and training assistance from the United States. For most of the 1941–89 period, training was largely provided by U.S. advisers, though this assistance has not prevented the same generally low levels of effectiveness common to most of the armed forces in the developing world . For most of the Cold War , the AFL saw little action, apart from a reinforced company group which

1862-630: The AFL included Major General Alexander Harper (1952–54), Lieutenant General Abraham Jackson (1954–60), Albert T. White (1964–65), Lieutenant General George T. Washington (late 1960s), Lieutenant General Henry Johnson (1970–74), Lieutenant General Franklin Smith, and Lieutenant General Henry Dubar (1980–1990). When William Tolbert replaced the long-serving William Tubman as president in 1971, he retired more than 400 aging soldiers. Sawyer comments that "retired soldiers were replaced by young recruits from urban areas, many of whom were then poorly trained at

1960-408: The AFL, among others with Quiwonkpa's Gio tribe , and to hamper morale. "... Military discipline was an early casualty of the coup. The revolt had been an enlisted men's affair, and one of the first instructions broadcast over the radio had ordered soldiers not to obey their officers. Over four years later, according to observers, the reluctance of most officers to impose discipline had combined with

2058-792: The Akosombo Agreement, a supplement to the Cotonou agreement, named after the Benin city where it was signed. The security situation in Liberia remained poor. In October 1994, in the face of ECOMOG funding shortfalls and a lack of will by the Liberian combatants to honor agreements to end the war, the UN Security Council reduced to about 90 the number of UNOMIL observers. It extended UNOMIL's mandate and subsequently extended it several times until September 1997. In December 1994,

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2156-808: The Armed Forces of Liberia under the Amended National Defense Law of 1956, though other sources say February 1962, which appears to have been the date the land force became the Liberian National Guard. Liebenow says that the LFF was 'restyled the National Guard in 1962.' From this period, Liberia's armed forces consisted of the Liberian National Guard, the Liberian Militia, whose ostensible structure

2254-551: The Cotonou Accords, failed due to lack of agreement between the warring factions. The NPFL launched an assault on Monrovia in 1992, which they named 'Operation Octopus.' The civil war lasted until the Abuja Accords of August 1996. The AFL was confined to an enclave around the capital during the conflict, and did not play a significant part in the fighting. Elections in July 1997 finally brought Taylor to power. Under

2352-783: The Cotonou Peace Agreement, prior to elections originally planned for February/March 1994. Renewed armed hostilities broke out in May 1994 and continued, becoming especially intense in July and August. ECOMOG, and later UNOMIL, members were captured and held hostage by some factions. By mid-1994, the humanitarian situation had become disastrous, with 1.8 million Liberians in need of humanitarian assistance. Conditions continued to deteriorate, but humanitarian agencies were unable to reach many in need due to hostilities and general insecurity. Factional leaders agreed in September 1994 to

2450-726: The Freeport of Monrovia on August 24, 1990, landing from Nigerian and Ghanaian vessels. On 9 September 1990, Doe visited the newly established ECOMOG headquarters in the Free Port of Maher. According to Stephen Ellis, his motive was to complain that the ECOMOG commander had not paid a courtesy call to him as the Head of State; however, the exact circumstances that led to Doe's visit to the Free Port are still unclear. Doe had been under pressure to accept exile outside of Liberia. After Doe arrived,

2548-733: The Independent National Patriotic Front (INPFL). The INPFL and NPFL continued their siege on Monrovia, which the AFL defended. In their Freedom in the World report for 1990, Freedom House described Monrovia by July as "a virtual ghost town of starving people and rotting corpses" as the rebel advance on the city caused widespread panic and anarchy, leading to Liberian soldiers looting shops and killing civilians at random, all while hunger and disease quickly took hold. Johnson swiftly took control of parts of Monrovia prompting evacuation of foreign nationals and diplomats by

2646-788: The Military Police Unit. Also at BTC was the Logistical Command, consisting of a depot, arsenal (whose location had been declared unsafe), the AFL Quartermaster Corps, and the AFL Transportation Company. Strength was reported to be 4,822 in 1978. The Liberian Militia Organization of the Liberian Militia, according to the National Defense Law 1956 Two Divisional Headquarters While militia service

2744-604: The Ministry of Defense. The LAF was to be headed by a colonel in his capacity as Assistant Chief of Defense Staff for the Air Force and was mandated to do the following: to train personnel and develop doctrine; advise the Chief of Staff of the AFL on matters relating to the Air Force. In 1989 two refurbished DHC-4 Caribou , a single Piper Aztec light twin and three IAI Arava STOL twins were delivered. Charles Taylor invaded

2842-615: The NPFL back beyond Monrovia's suburbs. In 1993, ECOWAS brokered a peace agreement in Cotonou , Benin. Following this, on September 22, 1993, the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council established the UN Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL), to support ECOMOG in implementing this peace agreement. UNOMIL was deployed in early 1994 with 368 military observers and associated civilian personnel to monitor implementation of

2940-615: The President's own tribe, the Krahn. The mistreatment of the Gio and Mano increased tensions in Liberia, which had already been rising due to Doe's preferential treatment of his own group. Charles Taylor , who had left Doe's government after being accused of embezzlement, assembled a group of rebels in Côte d'Ivoire (mostly ethnic Gios and Manos who felt persecuted by Doe) who later became known as

3038-1261: The Second Infantry Battalion at Camp Todee in northern Montserrado County , and the Sixth Infantry Battalion at Bomi Hills —were tactical elements designed to operate against hostile forces. The other battalions, the Third Infantry Battalion based at the Barclay Training Centre in Monrovia, the Fourth Infantry Battalion at Zwedru in Grand Gedeh County , and the Fifth Infantry Battalion at Gbarnga in Bong County served mostly as providers of personnel for non-military duties. Soldiers in these units were used extensively as policemen, customs and immigration officials, and as tax collectors. In

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3136-540: The Tubman Military Academy. This development dramatically changed the character of the military in Liberia." ( Samuel Doe was among this group.) Amos Sawyer also comments that "recruitment of such individuals for the military was part of Tolbert's efforts to replace aging, illiterate soldiers with younger, literate men who were capable of absorbing technical and professional training." The AFL became involved in politics when seventeen soldiers launched

3234-629: The US Navy in August . In August 1990, the 16-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed to deploy a joint military intervention force, the Economic Community Monitoring Group ( ECOMOG ), and placed it under Nigerian leadership. The mission later included troops from non-ECOWAS countries, including Uganda and Tanzania. ECOMOG's objectives were to impose a cease-fire; help Liberians establish an interim government until elections could be held; stop

3332-626: The accords, which led to a break in fighting in 1996 and the Liberian general election, 1997 , ECOMOG was to retrain a new national army based on fair ethnic and geographical representation. Yet Taylor denied ECOMOG any role in the restructuring of the AFL, and the force eventually left Liberia by the end of 1998. During the 1990–99 period, Chiefs of Staff included Lieutenant Colonel Davis S. Brapoh, Lieutenant General Hezekiah Bowen (later Minister of Defense), Lieutenant General A.M.V. Doumuyah, and Lieutenant General Kalilu Abe Kromah , appointed during

3430-466: The aftermath of the rigged elections of 1985, which Doe manipulated to solidify his power, Quiwonkpa returned from his U.S. exile to enter Liberia from Sierra Leone. On November 12, 1985, he entered Monrovia with a group of dissident soldiers, took over the national Liberia Broadcasting System radio station and announced that the 'National Patriotic Forces of Liberia' had seized power. Adekeye says that Quiwonkpa erred in 'fail[ing] to establish control over

3528-573: The areas that they were pacifying, as a form of communal punishment. The Force's officers were drawn from either the coastal aristocracy or tribal elites. Liberia joined the Allies in both World War I and World War II . The only troops dispatched overseas were a few individuals to France during World War I, and reported volunteers under U.S. command in World War II, but none served in combat in either war. A law of 20 February 1940 stipulated that

3626-812: The armed forces of the Republic "shall consist ..of the Frontier Force, of twelve companies ..the Militia, ..and the Militia Reserve." During World War II, U.S. involvement in the country increased greatly. A steady supply of rubber from the world's largest rubber plantation, operated at Harbel by the Firestone Company since 1926 was vital. Thus the US government built roads, created an international airport (known as Robertsfield ), and transformed

3724-487: The army by the British government because it had given Liberia a loan." .. "The Sierra Leonean commanders took orders from the British government and not the President of Liberia, then Arthur Barclay. When they began to misbehave, the army was turned over to a Liberian who refused. It was during that time that some soldiers took to the streets in demand of salary arrears, so soldiers getting in the streets.. in demand of salary

3822-406: The bloodshed. The bloodshed did slow considerably, but it did not end. Violent events flared up regularly after the putative end of the war. Taylor, furthermore, was accused of backing guerrillas in neighboring countries and funneling diamond money into arms purchases for the rebel armies he supported, and into luxuries for himself. The implicit unrest manifested during the late 1990s is emblematic in

3920-622: The border, based on the Gio tribe and named Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL). Charles Taylor organized and trained indigenous northerners in Ivory Coast . During Doe's regime Taylor had served in the Liberian Government's General Services Agency, acting 'as its de facto director'. He fled to the United States in 1983 amid what Stephan Ellis describes as the 'increasingly menacing atmosphere in Monrovia' shortly before Thomas Quiwonkpa , Doe's chief lieutenant, fled into exile himself. Doe requested Taylor's extradition for embezzling $ 900,000 of Liberian government funds. Taylor

4018-798: The brigade was described as comprising a Headquarters and Headquarters Company at the Barclay Training Center, Monrovia, the Executive Mansion Guard Battalion on Capitol Hill, Monrovia, the Engineer Battalion and the First Field Artillery Battalion (both at Camp Jackson, Naama) two tactical combat battalions (the First Infantry Battalion, at Schiefflin and the Second Infantry Battalion which in

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4116-499: The capital by building a deep water port (the Freeport of Monrovia ). Black ("Colored") United States Army troops arrived from June 1942. During the war, funding provided by the United States allowed an increase in the Frontier Force's strength to around 1,500. The armed forces came to rely almost exclusively on American assistance in terms of training, with non-US training "tend[ing] to be brief and uninspired [with little] accomplished other than some desultory close-order drill." As

4214-539: The capital region, members of ECOWAS created the Economic Community Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) to restore order. The force comprised some 4,000 troops from Nigeria , Ghana , Sierra Leone , the Gambia and Guinea . ECOMOG succeeded in bringing Taylor and Johnson to agree to its intervention, but Taylor's forces engaged it in the port area of Monrovia. A series of peacemaking conferences in regional capitals followed. There were meetings in Bamako in November 1990, Lomé in January 1991, and Yamoussoukro in June–October 1991. But

4312-478: The company's actions as "...After a poor start, the performance of the contingent improved steadily; the last company, which returned home in May 1963, had performed creditably and, by its conduct and appearance, gave the impression of being a well-trained and disciplined military organization." Liebenow writes that the head of the National Guard was arrested, along with others, in February 1963, to forestall an alleged coup, and that Tubman had announced that following

4410-527: The conference. Within days, hostilities resumed. ECOMOG was reinforced in order to protect the interim government. Sawyer was able to establish his authority over most of Monrovia, but the rest of Liberia was in the hands of various factions of the NPFL or of local gangs. The United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) was formed in June 1991 by supporters of the late President Samuel K. Doe and former Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) fighters who had taken refuge in Guinea and Sierra Leone . It

4508-405: The country at Butuo in Nimba County on Christmas Eve 1989 with a force of around 150 men, initiating the First Liberian Civil War . Doe responded by sending two AFL battalions to Nimba in December 1989 – January 1990, under then-Colonel Hezekiah Bowen . The Liberian government forces assumed that most of the Mano and Gio peoples in the Nimba region were supporting the rebels. They thus acted in

4606-399: The country for exile in the United States. In place of Dubar, Brigadier General Charles Julu, former commander of the Executive Mansion Guard Battalion, was appointed Chief of Staff. Two Liberian Coast Guard vessels were sunk in the battles for the city. The NPFL had been distributing weapons to Gio civilians after it arrived in Nimba, where many were very interested in taking their revenge on

4704-437: The country within a year. Doe was captured and executed by the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), a splinter faction of the NPFL led by Prince Johnson , in September 1990. The NPFL and INPFL fought each other for control of the capital city, Monrovia and against the Armed Forces of Liberia and pro-Doe United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy . Peace negotiations and foreign involvement led to

4802-498: The country's communications system and resisted a frontal attack on the Executive Mansion.' These mistakes allowed Doe the time to rally the Krahn-dominated Executive Mansion Guard and 1st Infantry Battalion from Camp Schieffelin to reestablish control. Quiwonkpa was captured, killed, and mutilated, his body being dismembered and parts eaten. In the aftermath of the attempted coup, purges took place in Monrovia and in Nimba County , Quiwonkpa's home, against those who had rejoiced after

4900-401: The country, uprooted most of the rest, and destroyed a once-viable economic infrastructure. The strife also spread to Liberia's neighbors. It helped slow democratization in West Africa at the beginning of the 1990s and destabilized a region that already was one of the world's most unsteady. The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 and ended in October 2003, when ECOWAS intervened to stop

4998-597: The coup announcement. As many as 1,500 people may have been killed. The AFL was purged of Gio soldiers. Under Samuel Doe the Coast Guard was retitled the Liberian Navy in 1986 through the passage of The Liberian Navy Act of 1986. The Aviation Unit was founded in 1970 with the delivery of three Cessna U-17C light aircraft. An Aviation Unit aircraft crashed at Spriggs-Payne in 1984. In 1985 it operated three fixed-wing aircraft from Spriggs Payne Airport in Monrovia, including Cessna 172s . Their duties included reconnaissance and transport of light cargo and VIPs. The Aviation Unit

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5096-404: The demobilized personnel eventually led to a riot in which three died on May 5, 1998. As a result, Taylor authorised the formation of a commission to submit recommendations on how the AFL should be reorganized. The commission, led by Blamoh Nelson, Director of the Cabinet, submitted its report on December 17, 1998, recommending a 6,000-strong armed forces (5,160 Army, 600 Navy, and 240 Air Force) but

5194-451: The diamond mining areas of Lofa and Bomi counties . From its outset, ULIMO was beset with internal divisions and the group effectively broke into two separate militias in 1994: ULIMO-J , an ethnic Krahn faction led by General Roosevelt Johnson ; and ULIMO-K , a Mandingo -based faction led by Alhaji G.V. Kromah . The group was alleged to have committed serious violations of human rights , both before and after its breakup. Peace

5292-401: The early 1970s the militia reported a strength of some 4,000 poorly trained and ill-equipped men. The 1978 Annual Report of the Liberian Ministry of National Defense said that "The various militia regiments, in accordance with the law, held quarterly parades. ...Furthermore, the entire Regiments were out in full strength during burial occasions." By the time it was disbanded in 1980, the militia

5390-466: The evacuation of most international non-governmental organizations and the destruction of much of Monrovia. The U.S. Armed Forces enacted Operation Assured Response which resulted in the removal of 485 Americans and over 2,400 citizens hailing from 68 countries. In August 1996, these battles were ended by the Abuja Accord in Nigeria, agreeing to disarmament and demobilization by 1997 and elections in July of that year. 3 September 1996, Sankawulo

5488-421: The factions and other parties signed the Accra Agreement, a supplement to the Akosombo Agreement. Disagreements ensued and fighting continued. In August 1995, the main factions signed an agreement largely brokered by Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings . At a conference sponsored by ECOWAS, the United Nations and the United States, the European Union, and the Organization of African Unity , Charles Taylor agreed to

5586-468: The first seven peace conferences, including the Yamoussoukro I-IV processes failed. In November 1990, ECOWAS invited the principal Liberian players to meet in Banjul , Gambia to form a government of national unity. The negotiated settlement established the Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU), led by Dr. Amos Sawyer , leader of the LPP. Bishop Ronald Diggs of the Liberian Council of Churches became vice president. However, Taylor's NPFL refused to attend

5684-479: The former Commanding General of the Armed Forces of Liberia whom Doe had demoted and forced to flee the country, attempted to overthrow Doe's regime from neighbouring Sierra Leone . The coup attempt failed and Quiwonkpa was killed and allegedly eaten. His body was publicly exhibited on the grounds of the Executive Mansion in Monrovia soon after his death. The Gio and Mano ethnic groups were persecuted because they were suspected of treason and were seen as inferiors to

5782-418: The founding of the country in 1847. Any hope that Doe would improve the way Liberia was run was put aside as he quickly clamped down on opposition, fueled by his paranoia of a counter-coup attempt against him. As promised, Doe held elections in 1985 and won the presidency by just enough of a margin to avoid a runoff. However, international monitors condemned this election as fraudulent. Thomas Quiwonkpa ,

5880-437: The government after Doe had punished Nimba country for its support of Quiwonkpa in 1983 and 1985. By July 1990 the government began to distribute weapons to civilians in turn, to Krahn and Mandingo who wished to protect themselves. These hastily enlisted civilians became known as '1990 soldiers.' A '1990 soldier' which the President had personally picked, Tailey Yonbu, led a massacre of refugees, mostly Gio and Mano civilians, on

5978-434: The government and gaining control of the local diamond fields, leading to the Second Liberian Civil War . The Liberian civil war was one of Africa's bloodiest. From 1989 to 1996, it claimed the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and further displaced a million others into refugee camps in neighboring countries. Child soldiers were used throughout the war. The civil war claimed the lives of one out of every 17 people in

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6076-409: The group still made up over 50% of the officer corps of the AFL. From 1945 to 1964, the officers appointed were nearly all college graduates. From 1951, there was a US military mission based in Liberia to assist in training the AFL. A Reserve Officers' Training Corps was established in 1956 with units at the University of Liberia in Monrovia and the Booker Washington Institute in Kakata . By 1978

6174-402: The interim rule of the Council of State in 1996, who was chief of staff from May 1996 to April 1997. Following Kromah, Lieutenant General Prince C. Johnson was appointed, who died in October 1999 following a car accident. Shortly after the induction of Taylor as elected president of Liberia in August 1997, the Ministry of National Defense determined that the strength of the AFL had risen during

6272-467: The intervening period had moved from the BTC to Camp Tolbert, Todee) and three non-tactical battalions, tasked with providing guard services to government officials, tax collection, and 'other non-military duties'. The Third Infantry Battalion covered Montserrado, Grand Cape Mount, and Grand Bassa counties from BTC. The Fourth Infantry Battalion covered Grand Gedeh , Sinoe and Maryland counties from Camp Whisnant, Zwedru . The Fifth Infantry Battalion

6370-517: The killing of innocent civilians; and ensure the safe evacuation of foreign nationals. ECOMOG also sought to prevent the conflict from spreading into neighboring states, which share a complex history of state, economic, and ethno-linguistic social relations with Liberia. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) attempted to persuade Doe to resign and go into exile, but despite his weak position – besieged in his mansion – he refused. ECOMOG , an ECOWAS intervention force, arrived at

6468-507: The labour strikes of 1966, a foreign power had attempted to bribe army officers to stage a coup. In addition, Albert T. White, Commanding Officer of the LNG, was 'rusticated' by Tubman to become the Superintendent of Grand Gedeh County in 1966, though he was later 'rehabilitated'. In 1964 the US Army Area Handbook described the National Guard as 3,000 strong with a headquarters company, the Executive Mansion Guard Battalion in Monrovia, three infantry battalions and one engineer battalion (which

6566-404: The militia continued to serve as the country's defense force Following the model of the United States Army . In 1900, Liberian men between the ages of sixteen and fifty were considered liable for service in the militia. The militia also had a navy consisting of two small gunboats. In the 1850s, the Liberian president requested naval support from the British government to transport Liberian troops to

6664-448: The new Chief of Staff of the AFL (where he would stay until 2006) and John Tarnue as head of the army. Tarnue was later implicated in a land dispute in 1999, while acting as AFL commander. The International Crisis Group writes that the AFL was reduced practically to the point of non-existence by fall 2001, by which time a total of 4,000 personnel had been retired. The Second Liberian Civil War originated in clashes in April 1999 but

6762-474: The night of July 29/30, 1990 at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Sinkor , Monrovia. Some 600 were killed. Because of the previous ethnic purges carried out by Doe's forces, the conflict took on characteristics of an ethnic pogrom. In August 1990 the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) dispatched a peacekeeping force, ECOMOG , to Liberia. The force arrived at the Freeport of Monrovia on August 24, 1990, landing from Nigerian and Ghanaian vessels. By

6860-413: The presidential poll (no other candidate won more than 10 per cent) while the NPP won a similar proportion of seats in both parliamentary chambers. 2 August 1997, Ruth Perry handed power to elected president Charles Taylor. In 1997, the Liberian people elected Charles Taylor as the President after he entered the capital city, Monrovia , by force. Liberians had voted for Taylor in the hope that he would end

6958-404: The program had been redesignated the Army Student Training Program (ASTP) and had a total of 46 students at the University of Liberia , the Booker Washington Institute , and three smaller institutions. However it was not until the late 1960s that the Tubman Military Academy was established in Todee District , upper Montserrado County , as an officer training facility. The LFF was renamed as

7056-740: The proposal was never implemented. Instead Taylor ran down the Armed Forces, letting go 2,400–2,600 former personnel, many of whom were Krahn brought in by former President Doe, in December 1997 – January 1998, and building up instead the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), the Special Operations Division of the Liberian National Police , and the Special Security Service. On November 19, 1999, Taylor named General Kpenkpah Konah as

7154-542: The sharp national economic decline and the prevalent sale of diamonds and timber in exchange for small arms. After Taylor's victory, Liberia was sufficiently peaceful that refugees began to return. But other leaders were forced to leave the country, and some ULIMO forces reformed as the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). LURD began fighting in Lofa County with the aim of destabilizing

7252-763: The time ECOMOG arrived, Prince Johnson's INPFL and Taylor's NPFL were fighting on the outside bounds of the port. A series of peacemaking conferences in regional capitals followed. There were meetings in Bamako in November 1990, Lome in January 1991, and Yamoussoukro in June–October 1991. The first seven peace conferences, including the Yamoussoukro I-IV processes and the Carter Center negotiation leading to

7350-427: The unwillingness of more than a few enlisted men to accept it." The launch of Doe's coup meant that Major William Jarbo, another soldier with political ambitions who was said to have excellent connections to U.S. security officials, had had his takeover plans forestalled. He tried to escape abroad but was hunted down and killed by the new government. The junta started to split in 1983, with Doe telling Quiwonkpa that he

7448-495: The war from 6,500 to 14,981 service members. To begin demobilization, the AFL Chief of Staff published Special Orders No. 1 on January 1, 1998, demobilizing and retiring 2,250 personnel. The demobilization process was delayed and badly managed, and only on April 22, 1998, did payments began to be issued to the demobilizing personnel, without prior explanation of what exactly the payments represented. Demonstrations and protests by

7546-645: The war, a Nigerian Army officer served as head of the armed forces. 11 February is Armed Forces Day , having been proclaimed in 2011. The New National Defense Act of 2008 was approved on August 21, 2008. It repeals the National Defense Act of 1956, the Coast Guard Act of 1959, and the Liberian Navy Act of 1986. The duties and functions of the AFL are officially stated as follows: The modern Armed Forces of Liberia grew out of

7644-483: The war. Field commanders apparently included Brigadier General Edward Smith. By May 1990 the AFL had been forced back to Gbarnga , still under the control of Bowen's troops, but they lost the town to a NPFL assault by the end of May 1990, at which time the NPFL also captured Buchanan on the coast. The NPFL had now gathered an estimated 10,000 fighters while the AFL, splintering, could only summon 2,000. The revolt reached Monrovia by July 1990, and General Dubar left

7742-471: Was Doe, as a master sergeant the highest ranking of the group, who went on the radio the next day to announce the overthrow of the long-entrenched True Whig Party government. Doe became Head of State and co-chair of the new People's Redemption Council government. Quiwonkpa became commander of the army and the other co-chair of the PRC. (In the aftermath of the coup, the title of LNG Brigade commanding general

7840-529: Was a five year old at the onset of the war. General: Armed Forces of Liberia The Armed Forces of Liberia ( AFL ) are the armed forces of the Republic of Liberia . Tracing its origins to a militia that was formed by the first black colonists in what is now Liberia, it was founded as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908, and retitled in 1956. For almost all of its history,

7938-490: Was a strong supporter of Charles Taylor, was inaugurated in January 2006 and the National Transitional Government of Liberia terminated its power. Charles Taylor was sentenced to a trial in 2003, after being accused of rape and acts of sexual violence, promoting child soldiers, and an illegal ownership of weapons. He denied these accusations but was eventually testified against by his victims. He

8036-784: Was at Gbarnga . Other field units of the brigade were the Armoured Unit, at Camp Ram Rod, Paynesward City (possibly Paynesville ), Monrovia , and the Bella Yella Special Detachment, Camp Bella Yella, Lofa . Bella Yella was of course the location of the feared Bella Yella prison . The Service Support Battalion was located at BTC, and comprised the Medical Company, the Brigade Band, the Brigade Special Unit (a parade unit) and

8134-531: Was based at the Barclay Training Center (BTC) in Monrovia , and was composed of six infantry battalions , a military engineer battalion (which circa 1974 under the command of Colonel Robert M. Blamo completed an airstrip at Belefania Town), a field artillery battalion (the First Field Artillery Battalion, reportedly at Camp Naama in Bong County ) and a support battalion. Three of the infantry units—the First Infantry Battalion, stationed at Camp Schieffelin,

8232-617: Was carried out by approximately 30 ethnic Krahn government soldiers, killing 600 civilians in St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Monrovia, on 29 July 1990, the worst single atrocity of the First Liberian Civil War. By May 1990 the AFL had been forced back to Gbarnga , still under the control of Bowen's troops, but they lost the town to a NPFL assault on 28 May. By June 1990, Taylor's forces were laying siege to Monrovia. In July 1990, Prince Yormie Johnson split from Taylor and formed

8330-426: Was compulsory by law for all eligible males, the law was only enforced in a lax manner. From the mid-1960s, and in its later years, members of the militia met only quarterly for sparsely attended drill practice. Estimates of men enrolled over the years vary. The 1964 US Army Area Handbook said that "some 20,000 men are estimated to be enrolled." The IISS estimated militia numbers at 5,000 in 1967 and 6,000 in 1970. By

8428-443: Was confusingly changed to commanding general of the AFL, reporting to the chief of staff, and it was this position that Quiwonkpa inherited.) Henry Dubar (who had helped recruit Doe personally years before) was promoted in one leap from captain to lieutenant general as chief of staff. From 1980 onward, Doe's systematic promotion of ethnic Krahn to sensitive posts in the government and military, began to drive deepening divisions within

8526-595: Was considered to be completely ineffective as a military force. The armed forces' third arm, the Liberian National Coast Guard, was established in 1959. Throughout the Tubman period the coastguard was little more than a few sometimes unserviceable patrol craft manned by ill-trained personnel, though its training improved in the 1980s to the point where it was considered the best trained of the armed services. From 1952 onwards, Chiefs of Staff of

8624-684: Was expanded in the 1980s with the delivery of more Cessna aircraft: three 172s, a 206, 207 and two single engined turboprop 208s. The Liberian Air Force was established from the Aviation Unit by an Act of Legislature on August 12, 1987. Its statutory responsibilities were to: protect and defend the air space of the Republic of Liberia; protect lives and properties; provide air mobility for military and civil personnel; assist in search and rescue operations; undertake emergency operations; conduct reconnaissance patrols; participate in joint military operations and perform other duties as may be designated by

8722-570: Was led by Raleigh Seekie, a deputy Minister of Finance in the Doe government. After fighting alongside the Sierra Leonean army against the Sierra Leonean Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels, ULIMO forces entered western Liberia in September 1991. The group scored significant gains in areas held by another rebel group – Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), notably around

8820-499: Was newly formed at Camp Naama in 1962 and only had one company organized). The three infantry battalions were the 1st Infantry Battalion, at Camp Schiefflin, situated on the airport road between Monrovia and Roberts International Airport , the 2nd Infantry Battalion, HQ at Barclay Training Center (BTC), Monrovia, and the 3rd Infantry Battalion, HQ at Baworobo, Maryland County . By 1978, the LNG Brigade had been established and

8918-618: Was not a high status force: "It was a skeleton brigade of soldiers who were predominantly from the lower economic and social stratum of society. They were poorly paid, and had less than decent facilities for accommodation and care." Despite this, a Liberian company, designated the Reinforced Security Company, was contributed to the United Nations Operation in the Congo in the early 1960s. Six rotations were made. The 1964 US Army Area Handbook described

9016-449: Was planning to move Quiwonkpa from command of the army to a position as secretary-general of the People's Redemption Council . Unhappy with this proposed change, Quiwonkpa fled into exile in late 1983, along with his aide-de-camp Prince Johnson . In 1984 the AFL included the Liberian National Guard (LNG) Brigade and related units (6,300 men), and the Liberian National Coast Guard (about 450 men). The brigade, formed between 1964 and 1978,

9114-471: Was quickly replaced under threat of arms after he complained the Force was not being properly paid. In 1912, the United States established military ties with Liberia by sending some five black American officers to help reorganize the force. The LFF in its early years was frequently recruited by inducing men from the interior forcibly. When dispatched to the interior to quell tribal unrest, units often lived off

9212-485: Was sent to ONUC in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 1960s. This changed with the advent of the First Liberian Civil War in 1989. The AFL became entangled in the conflict, which lasted from 1989 to 1996–97, and then the Second Liberian Civil War , which lasted from 1999 to 2003. As of 2014, the AFL consists of an infantry brigade , an air wing, and the coast guard . For several years after

9310-412: Was still far off as both Taylor and Johnson claimed power. ECOMOG declared an Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU) with Amos Sawyer as their president, with the broad support of Johnson. Taylor launched an assault on Monrovia on October 15, 1992, named 'Operation Octopus' which may have been led by Burkina Faso soldiers. The resulting siege lasted two months. By late December, ECOMOG had pushed

9408-584: Was the first of two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia which lasted between 1989 and 1997. President Samuel Doe 's regime of totalitarianism and widespread corruption led to calls for withdrawal of the support of the United States , by the late 1980s. The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led by Charles Taylor invaded Liberia from the Ivory Coast to overthrow Doe in December 1989 and gained control over most of

9506-671: Was then sentenced to 50 years in prison. Peace agreements signed included the: Liberia during this civil war is one of the numerous locations worldwide depicted in The Savage Detectives ( Los Detectives Salvajes in Spanish), a novel by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño published in 1998, just after the end of this war. The 2020 memoir by Liberian-American author Wayétu Moore , The Dragons, The Giant, The Women , recounts her family's flight from Monrovia when she

9604-528: Was thus arrested in the United States and after sixteen months broke out of a Massachusetts jail in circumstances that are still unclear. The NPFL initially encountered plenty of support within Nimba County, which had endured the majority of Samuel Doe's wrath after the 1985 attempted coup. Thousands of Gio and Mano joined when Taylor and his force of 100 rebels reentered Liberia in 1989, on Christmas Eve. Doe responded by sending two AFL battalions, including

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