Liberia: Information on whether the warring factions have been disarmed, whether peacekeepers are still active in the country, and, if so, whether they are encountering any resistance

The following section of this Response deals with the question of whether armed factions in Liberia have been disarmed.

According to a 1 February 1998 Panafrican News Agency (PANA) dispatch, residents of rural Liberia expressed anxiety at the prospect of the withdrawal of  peacekeeping troops of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), who were officially scheduled to be withdrawn from Liberia on 2 February 1998 (see below). Residents of Lower Lofa County said they feared that the withdrawal of ECOMOG troops would leave them exposed to abuse by former Liberian combatants and Sierra Leonean rebels, some of whom "were armed, and were using their weapons as a source of survival," according to the residents.

According to a 9 January 1998 dispatch from PANA, Major-General Victor Malu, the commander of the ECOMOG peacekeeping force in Liberia, stated that he was concerned that ECOMOG was scheduled to withdraw from Liberia before it had a chance to restructure the Liberian army as it had been mandated to do by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). According to Major-General Malu, ECOMOG had been instructed to restructure the Liberian army because "the winner of presidential elections could be accused of transforming his faction into an army, which is happening now" (ibid.). It is not clear from the text of the report whether the general meant that Liberian president Charles Taylor was transforming his faction into an army or whether he was being accused of transforming his faction into an army. The general added that "eight factions in Liberia were disarmed and have not disappeared" (ibid.). Liberian President Charles Taylor reportedly stated that ECOMOG had no mandate to restructure the Liberian army after 2 August 1997 (ibid.). The November 1997 issue of Africa Research Bulletin reported that Charles Taylor had stated that "he had the constitutional right to create an army and has announced the formation of a 1,000-man force to form the nucleus of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and deployed it along Liberia's joint border with Sierra Leone" (12903).    

According to a 1 January 1998 Xinhua News Agency dispatch, ECOMOG Chief of Staff Brigadier-General Abdul One Mohammed expressed his concern that certain trends within Liberia could lead to a renewal of conflict in that country. Among those trends was the "re-enlistment of soldiers who have been identified with the seven-year fratricidal war."

According to the November 1997 issue of Africa Research Bulletin, a Guinean opposition politician told Agence France Presse (AFP) on 7 November 1997 that Alaji Koromah, the head of the Liberian faction, United Liberation Movement (ULIMO), was in Guinea and that the Guinean towns of Lola, Yomou and Macenta, in the area near the Liberian border, were sanctuaries for ULIMO combatants, who were still mobilized and armed, according to the politician (12903).

The following section of this Response deals with the role of peacekeepers in Liberia.

On 23 January 1998 PANA reported that on 19 January ECOMOG troops had "briefly detained five Liberian joint security (police, immigration and secret agents) officers" in Monrovia when the latter tried to inspect a truck carrying Nigerian ECOMOG troops. The Liberians suspected that the ECOMOG vehicle was being used to transport weapons and personnel for the Kamajor rebels from Sierra Leone (ibid.). PANA quoted local residents as saying that Liberian security agents "usually accuse" ECOMOG troops of supporting the Kamajors (ibid.).

ECOMOG's mandate in Liberia officially ended on 2 February 1998, PANA reported on that date. However, ECOMOG commander Major-General Timothy Shelpidi stated that the force had not received orders from ECOWAS to leave Liberia. The ECOMOG contingents from Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, and most of the Guinean contingent had withdrawn from Liberia by 2 February. A 26 January 1998 report on Radio France International (RFI) stated that with the return to Guinea of 300 Guinean ECOMOG soldiers on 23 January 1998, only a small number or Guinean military and police instructors remained in Liberia. PANA reported on 2 February 1998 that ECOMOG troops were still deployed in the following places in Liberia: Monrovia, Bo Waterside, Klay, Tubmanburg, Saw Mill, Lofa Bridge, Grand Gedeh, and Sinoe.

According to a 6 February 1998 report on Star Radio in Monrovia, Major-General Shelpidi, commenting on the movement of ECOMOG troops from Liberia to Sierra Leone, denied that the Liberian government had asked ECOMOG to withdraw entirely from Liberia. The general added that ECOMOG has "a cordial working relationship" with the government of Liberia, that ECOMOG and the government were discussing ECOMOG's role in Liberia now that the war is over, and that ECOMOG "could withdraw completely if it is ordered to do so by ECOWAS."

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. November 1-30 1997. Vol. 34, No. 11. "Liberia: Army Discussions."

Panafrican News Agency. 2 February 1998. Tepitapia Sannah. "Mandate of ECOMOG Ends." [Internet] < http://www.africanews.org/west/liberia/stories/19980202 > [Accessed on 9 Feb. 1998]

_____. 1 February 1998. Tepitapia Sannah. "Peacekeepers Will Stay in Liberia Beyond Deadline." [Internet] < http://www.africanews.org/west/liberia/stories/19980201 > [Accessed on 9 Feb. 1998]

_____. 23 January 1998. Tepitapia Sannah. "Police Flog Newspaper Editor." [Internet]

< http://www.africanews.org/west/liberia/stories/19980123 > [Accessed on 9 Feb. 1998]

_____. 9 January 1998. Tepitapia Sannah. "Liberia; Malu Regrets Leaving Without Restructuring Liberian Army." (Africa News Service 9 Jan. 1998/NEXIS)

Radio France International (RFI). [Paris, in French]. 26 January 1998. "Guinea ( Some 300 ECOMOG Soldiers Return from Liberia." (FBIS-AFR-98-026 26 Jan. 1998/WNC)

Star Radio [Monrovia]. 6 February 1998. "Liberian Daily News Bulletin." [Internet] < http://www.africanews.org/west/liberia/stories/19980206 > [Accessed on 9 Feb. 1998]

Xinhua News Agency. 1 January 1998. "ECOMOG Decries Post-Election Atrocities in Liberia." (NEXIS)