| 1989–90 invasion of Liberia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Liberia |
National Patriotic Front of Liberia Supported by:
| ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown, reportedly light | Unknown | ||||||
| Many killed in reprisals by both sides[2] | |||||||
On 24 December, 1989, between 150 to 250[3][4] rebels invaded Liberia from Côte d'Ivoire, starting the First Liberian Civil War.
Invasion edit
The rebels, lead by a former official of Samuel Doe's administration, Charles Taylor, attacked a Liberian military position around the Buutuo area in Nimba County. [5] Doe claimed to have lost only one sergeant with a soldier wounded. He also claimed that one group had made its way to the capital, Monrovia, before surrendering.[6] Signs of a brewing invasion by dissidents were, according to Doe, ignored, resulting in Interior Minister Edward Sackor being dismissed. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was set in in the Nimba region.[7] The invasion was believed to have been repelled at the time, with the towns of Kahntle and Butuo reportedly destroyed due to the fighting.[8] Samuel Doe said that Liberia was considering embarking on a cross-border operation into Côte d'Ivoire to strike at the bases of "dissident incursions".[9]
Most of Liberia fell to the rebels rapidly- the NPFL would, by mid-1990, be at the outskirts of Monrovia, with both rebel factions besieging Monrovia, cutting off supplies to the city entirely. The NPFL had grown rapidly to around 10,000 soldiers by the time it reached Monrovia.[4] The city would fall to the a breakaway faction of the NPFL- the Independent NPFL- on 23 July of 1990, shortly after its breakaway.[10] As the rebel movement began to divide, the country would descend further into a deadly civil war.
Human rights violations edit
At the beginning of the invasion, the Liberian military would embark on a brutal campaign of murder and looting of ethnic Gios and Manos, driving many to join Taylor's rebellion, which organized itself under the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). The NPFL would embark on similar reprisals of its own, against ethnic groups deemed sympathetic to Doe's government,[2] and, similar to what the Doe government did with ethnic Krahn people, armed ethnic Gios and Manos to commit massacres against pro-government civilians and Krahns.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b Ellis, Stephen. “Liberia 1989-1994: A Study of Ethnic and Spiritual Violence.” African Affairs, vol. 94, no. 375, 1995, pp. 165–97. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/723778. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.
- ^ a b "Liberia. Events Since 1990". United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. 1993-11-01.
- ^ International Crisis Group (ICG), Liberia: The Key to Ending Regional Instability, 24 April 2002, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3de773724.html [accessed 2 April 2023] At least 150 fighters trained in Libya and Burkina Faso crossed from Côte d'Ivoire into Nimba County, attacking government officials and Armed Forces of Liberia soldiers.
- ^ a b Gershoni, Yekutiel. “War without End and an End to a War: The Prolonged Wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone.” African Studies Review, vol. 40, no. 3, 1997, pp. 55–76. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/524966. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023. In December 1989, NPFL forces numbered only 250; within six months as Taylor reached the outskirts of Monrovia, they had grown to more 10,000
- ^ https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a6bc0.html
- ^ "DISSIDENTS STAGE RAID, LIBERIAN LEADER SAYS". Associated Press. 1990-01-01.
- ^ "Liberia's Leader Ousts Aide For Ignoring Hints of a Coup". New York Times. 1990-01-03.
- ^ "Many Flee Liberia as Clash Destroys Towns, Envoys Say". The New York Times. 1990-01-06.
- ^ "Liberia threatens to invade Ivory Coast". The Globe and Mail. 1990-01-05.
- ^ Freedomhouse.Org, 2023, https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2020-02/Freedom_in_the_World_1991-1992_complete_book.pdf. Accessed 1 Apr 2023.