First Liberian Civil War

The First Liberian Civil War was the first in a series of two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia. It lasted from 1989 to 1997. President Samuel Doe established a regime in 1980 but totalitarianism and corruption led to unpopularity and the withdrawal of support from 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 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 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.

First Liberian Civil War
Part of the Liberian Civil Wars and spillover of the Sierra Leone Civil War

INPFL militiamen in 1990 after taking control of much of Monrovia
Date24 December 1989 – 2 August 1997
(7 years, 7 months, 1 week and 2 days)
Location
Result

NPFL victory

Belligerents

Liberian government


ULIMO (1991–1994)

LPC (1993–1996)
LUDF (later becoming ULIMO)
LDF (1993–1996)
Supported by:
ECOMOG

UNOMIL (September 22, 1993 – September 12, 1997)
Anti-Doe Armed Forces elements
NPFL
INPFL (1989–1992)
NPFL-CRC (1994–1996)
Supported by:
Libya
Burkina Faso
RUF
Commanders and leaders

ULIMO:
Alhaji Kromah (ULIMO-K since 1994)
Roosevelt Johnson (ULIMO-J since 1994)
Raleigh Seekie
General Butt Naked (ULIMO-J since 1994)
Jungle Jabbah (ULIMO-K since 1994)
LPC:
George Boley
LUDF:
Albert Karpeh
FDL:
Francois Massaquoi
Foreign support:
Sani Abacha

Strength
450,000 350,000
Casualties and losses
Total killed: ~200,000 including civilians

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 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.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.