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Liberia's descent into chaos unchecked
May 25, 1996
Web posted at: 11:15 p.m. EDT (0315 GMT)MONROVIA, Liberia (CNN) -- Despite efforts by the international community to stanch the violence in Liberia, the carnage that was once contained to its countryside has in recent weeks spilled onto the streets of the capital.
Fierce fighting erupted in the city almost two months ago after the arrest of faction leader Roosevelt Johnson and the collapse of the peace accord signed last year in Abuja, Nigeria.
Johnson recently escaped to Ghana, but his followers have not let up, often clashing violently with rivals supporting warlord Charles Taylor. Several announcements of a cease-fire have come, only to be broken by renewed violence.
Today, Monrovia is overcome by the stench of death, its streets littered with rotting bodies, sometimes savaged beyond recognition.
Young armed fighters -- many of them adolescents -- roam the city roads brandishing guns and swords. Many are rebels from two of the country's armed factions -- the National Patriotic Front of Liberia and a wing of the United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia.
There seems to be no real objective to the fighting, as neither side holds on to ground gained for very long. The clashes are followed by senseless orgies of destruction as gangs of armed looters on trucks parade the streets, pillaging whatever little property remains.
While the fighters seem to take a child-like pride in the conflict, the war has meant nothing but misery to ordinary civilians.
It is only during the lulls in the violence that residents of the city are able to venture out in search of food and water. Most have lost everything they own.
For many, the violence is a nightmare without end.
(254K AIFF or WAV sound)Although peacekeeping troops from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOMOG) have managed to establish some sense of order in parts of the Monrovia, they have little control over a large part of the city center -- the focus of much of the violence.
Even the government's chairman, Wilton Sankowolo, admits there is no law and order.
"Everybody is violating everybody's rights," he said. "The civilians are looting ... everybody is looting, all forces are looting so we cannot exercise real control. "
Since 1990, the country has been locked in a brutal civil war, broken by intermittent periods of peace. About 200,000 people have been killed in the conflict and at least half of the country's 2.8 million residents have been left homeless.
The latest fighting unraveled a peace plan signed in August 1995, the 13th such pact since 1989. Under the accord, the presidency is to rotate among warlords on the State Council until elections can be held. Those elections are tentatively set for this summer. The last general election was in 1985.
CNN Correspondent Bob Coen and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Camp set up for Liberian refugees - May 15, 1996
- Liberian refugees allowed to enter Ghana, Sierra Leone - May 14, 1996
- Liberia torn by long civil war - April 30, 1996
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