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. _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~