Civil War in Liberia
Liberia, founded by freed American slaves, suffered years of brutal civil war both before and after Charles Taylor's election as President in 1997. Once a guerrilla trained under Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, an escapee of a Boston maximum security prison with the rumoured help of the CIA for whom he was an informant, a convicted warlord accused of fuelling civil war in Sierra Leone through weapons sales for blood diamonds, the history of Charles Taylor is both impossibly bizarre and gruesomely brutal. One of his election slogans was reported to be "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him".
By 2003 the capital Monrovia was besieged by rebel forces with bitter battles being fought across the city. Under intense regional and U.S. pressure Taylor agreed to step down in exchange for exile, leaving a weary nation to start to rebuild. However he was subsequently handed over and convicted of war crimes in 2015.
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Older rebel fighters wrestle the gun from a young fighter reluctant to give it up, over a disciplinary matter, in the rebel-held port area of the Liberian capital Monrovia Tuesday, Aug 5th, 2003. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Liberian President Charles Taylor behind the wheel of his bulletproof jeep, accompanied by an unidentified woman, as he tours the St Paul bridge area of the Liberian capital Monrovia Sunday, June 29, 2003. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A can of looted evaporated milk lies amongst a litter of shell casings in the rebel-held port area of the Liberian capital Monrovia Tuesday, Aug 5th, 2003. Much of the port area has been heavily looted during the recent fighting. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Flip-flops and a child's plastic water cup lie in a pool of blood after seven people were killed by early-morning mortar attacks at the Newport High School in the Liberian capital Monrovia Friday, July 25, 2003. Others died in other places around the city, in an early morning mortar barrage of the town. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A male government soldier stands guard at the Irongate checkpoint as the U.S. military assessment team are refused passage, in Liberian capital Monrovia Tuesday, July 8, 2003. Many government soldiers wear wigs and female clothes believing it will protect them battle. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A soldier stands guard on the St Paul bridge in the Liberian capital Monrovia Sunday, June 29, 2003. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Government forces jump out of their vehicle at "Combat Camp" near Amadu town outside the Liberian capital Monrovia Thursday, July 17, 2003. Government officials claim the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) are making a push for the capital Monrovia. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Civilians make a break for cover across a street in the city centre amidst heavy gunfire in the Liberian capital Monrovia Friday, Aug 1, 2003. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
**EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT** A pile of dead civilians killed by rocket attacks are laid outside the U.S. Embassy in the Liberian capital Monrovia Monday, July 21, 2003, in protest at the lack of U.S. intervention in the war-torn West-African nation. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A government fighter, amidst a litter of bullet casings, leaps to see the target of his gunfire on the Mesurado "old" bridge in the Liberian capital Monrovia Wednesday, July 30, 2003, where government and rebel forces exchanged small arms and mortar fire despite a proclaimed ceacefire. His T-shirt reads "peace and reconciliation dialogue in sincerity and truth put Liberia 1st". (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A government militia member eats raw meat to prepare himself for battle in the New Krutown area of the Liberian capital Monrovia Saturday, July 19, 2003, as heavy fighting between government and rebel forces pushed closer to the city. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
An unidentified man wails in sorrow and anger next to a dead civilian, as seven people were killed by early-morning mortar attacks at the Newport High School in the Liberian capital Monrovia Friday, July 25, 2003. Others died in other places around the city, in an early morning mortar barrage of the town. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Kang Yormie, 21, daughter of ex-government minister John Yormie, is splashed with water by relatives after fainting whilst weeping at a press conference at the family's home in Paynesville outside the Liberian capital Monrovia Tuesday, July 15, 2003. Mr Yormie was taken away by government security forces after what the government called an attempted coup, following President Charles Taylor's indictment by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and has been confirmed dead. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
An unidentified woman sobs against a wall as another sits down on schoolchairs shattered by the blast, as seven people were killed by early-morning mortar attacks at the Newport High School in the Liberian capital Monrovia Friday, July 25, 2003. Others died in other places around the city, in an early morning mortar barrage of the town. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
An unidentified man rolls on the ground wailing after someone he knew died, as seven people were killed by early-morning mortar attacks at the Newport High School in the Liberian capital Monrovia Friday, July 25, 2003. Others died in other places around the city, in an early morning mortar barrage of the town. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A security guard peers out of the door of the Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) compound near the U.S. Embassy in the Liberian capital Monrovia Wednesday, July 23, 2003. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Refugees stream past the American Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia, Saturday, May 7, 2003. Thousands of refugees have arrived near the American embassy in the hope that it may offer them some protection, as rebels approach the outskirts of the capital. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A Liberian woman and child sit with all their possessions surrounded by the rocks they have used to designate this space as theirs, at the Samuel K. Doe stadium in the Liberian capital Monrovia Sunday, June 8, 2003. The stadium is now home to over 30,000 refugees who have fled fighting in the war-torn West-African nation. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Liberians walk past a sign dedicated to US-Liberia relations near the Samuel K. Doe stadium in the Liberian capital Monrovia Tuesday, July 29, 2003. Many Liberians are becoming increasingly angry with the delay in sending peacekeepers to their war-torn West-African nation, which has strong historical ties to the United States, being founded by freed American slaves. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Tenneh Johnson, who did not know her age, looks up as the U.S. assessment team enter a doorway to look at her living quarters during a visit to the VOA refugee camp outside the Liberian capital Monrovia Thursday, July 10, 2003. The VOA camp is named after a nearby Voice of America radio broadcasting antenna. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
U.S. Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit take positions after being dropped off by helicopter at Robertsfield airport outside the Liberian capital Monrovia Thursday, Aug 14th, 2003, as part of a peacekeeping effort in the war-torn West African nation. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
U.S. Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrive at Robertsfield airport outside the Liberian capital Monrovia Thursday, Aug 14th, 2003, as part of a peacekeeping effort in the war-torn West African nation. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebel General Acapulco (right) reaches out to shake the hand of an unidentified government fighter on the middle of the new bridge in the Liberian capital Monrovia Tuesday, Aug 5th, 2003. A number of rebel and government fighters cautiously met each other at the middle of the bridge, by their own volition, to greet each other and discuss the situation in the war-torn West-African nation. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A congregation member clutches a Bible as the pastor delivers his sermon at the Providence Baptist Church in the Liberian capital Monrovia Sunday, July 13, 2003. Liberians maintain deep religious beliefs and share many cultural ties with the United States. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)