The mother of local wars

Apr 10th 2003
From The Economist print edition


Flames in Liberia scorch the neighbours, and vice versa

UNIFORMS are rare in the Liberian army. Combat units seek to identify
themselves by wearing T-shirts of the same colour. The Navy Division, for
example, is so called not because it has anything to do with boats, but
because its members wear yellow T-shirts with the logo Navy Ranger on the
front. By Liberian martial standards, this is sober attire. Drugged-up
rebels have been known to sport pink bathrobes and shower caps.
Unfortunately, the T-shirts are in short supply, and rebels have recently
captured and worn some, creating utter confusion.

Liberia's war is as horrific as it is messy. The two main belligerents—the
government of President Charles Taylor and the rebels who call themselves
Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD)—are more or less
equally vicious. There is no clear front-line, and almost no media coverage,
so it is hard to know who, if anyone, has the upper hand.

Last month, LURD rebels advanced within a few kilometres of Monrovia, the
capital. There has also been heavy fighting in Gbarnga, in the centre of the
country, and in Ganta, near the border with Guinea (see map). For the first
time, shooting has started in eastern Liberia, near the border with Côte
d'Ivoire. The government maintains that a new rebel group there, the
Movement for Democracy in Liberia, is in fact linked to the LURD. The LURD
denies any involvement.

The war has for some years been closely intertwined with conflicts in
neighbouring Sierra Leone and Guinea: the Liberian government is under UN
sanctions (to be reviewed next month) for having allegedly backed Sierra
Leonean rebels, and the Guinean and Liberian governments each allegedly back
each other's. Now, Liberia is being scorched by, and scorching, yet another
neighbour.

Last November, two new rebel groups emerged in western Côte d'Ivoire, near
the border with Liberia. Observers suspect that the groups, which are
reported to be composed mainly of Liberians, enjoy the support of Mr Taylor,
who was a close ally of Robert Guei, an Ivorian general and former coup
leader who was killed last year, probably by forces loyal to the Ivorian
government. According to the International Crisis Group (ICG), a lobbying
think-tank, commanders close to Mr Taylor have been spotted with the rebels.
The Liberian government denies it.

Liberian mercenaries are involved on the other side as well. Kofi Annan, the
UN secretary-general, has told the Security Council that the Ivorian army
has reportedly recruited Liberian fighters, including some from refugee
camps. On March 7th, French military peacekeepers intercepted 110 fighters
in western Côte d'Ivoire who they said were Liberians fighting alongside
Ivorian government forces. An ICG report to be published next week goes one
step further by claiming that the LURD has helped the Ivorian authorities to
recruit Liberians. In addition, the ICG says that members of the Ivorian
army and government have supplied weapons to the LURD.

Ordinary Liberians cannot decide where to flee. Some have made it to Guinea
or Sierra Leone, but many are stuck in battle zones, out of reach of
aid-workers. Another wave of refugees, nearly 100,000 of them, have fled
into Liberia from Côte d'Ivoire. According to the UN's refugee agency, more
than 45,000 of these have been forced to flee again, by the recent fighting
in eastern Liberia. Some have made it to the southern Atlantic coast, but
they have nowhere to go from there. Atrocities have become part of daily
life. Both sides kidnap, conscript, rob and rape.

The UN has asked for $42.6m this year to help run camps for homeless
Liberians, which are currently overcrowded with 180,000 fugitives and
getting short of food. It has received less than $1m. The prospect of a
ceasefire appears remote, but Mr Taylor is sticking to his plan to hold
national elections next October. In a move that may or may not be related,
he recently banned street preaching in Monrovia.





Copyright © 2003 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights
reserved.










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