Vol 44 No 15 | LIBERIA Fighting on 25th July 2003 The indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas by the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) in the latest upsurge of fighting has removed any lingering hope that...
Vol 44 No 14 | LIBERIA Meltdown in Monrovia 11th July 2003 Sending peacekeepers into the capital without a political plan could cause yet more chaos and killing Next week, the first component of 1,000 West African peacekeepers is due in Liberia to enforce a fragile ceasefire between President Charles Taylor's crumbling government and his rebel...
Vol 44 No 13 | LIBERIA Weird scenes inside the gold-mine 27th June 2003 Taylor has nowhere to run but the West hasn't got a plan yet Liberia's latest ceasefire lasted barely a week. President Charles Taylor vowed to fight on as the rebels advanced through Bushrod Island and headed for Monrovia's city centre and...
Vol 44 No 13 | LIBERIA How the Ghana talks stalled 27th June 2003 General Abdulsalami Abubakar appeared to have won the trust of all sides at the peace talks in Ghana. The Nigerian former ruler was on the verge of getting...
Vol 44 No 12 | LIBERIA Where next? 13th June 2003 The Sierra Leone Special Court's indictment of President Charles Taylor leaves him little option but to fight to the death, potentially taking the thousands of Liberians who have...
Vol 44 No 10 | LIBERIA Horse-trading, arms-trading 16th May 2003 The new UN resolution misses an opportunity to tackle the regional conflict from all sides The planned United Nations Security Council mission to West Africa will find President Charles Taylor in a tight corner. Two armed groups on two fronts supported by Guinea...
Vol 44 No 10 | LIBERIA More guns, please 16th May 2003 President Charles Taylor in March 2003 told the press that Liberia had 'ordered arms'. Defence Minister Daniel Chea subsequently provided a 'comprehensive listing of military hardware and materials...
Vol 44 No 9 | LIBERIA Tackling Taylor 2nd May 2003 A battle is going on behind the scenes at the United Nations Security Council over whether to give sanctions on Liberia a wider regional focus. Key issues are...
Vol 43 No 21 | LIBERIA Augean audit 25th October 2002 Plans to audit the shipping registry and timber industry are looking as murky as the subjects themselves. Global Witness has approached the auditors' London office asking to see...
Vol 43 No 18 | LIBERIA Paranoid or what? 13th September 2002 International pressure upsets President Taylor but brings peace no nearer With so many peace initiatives competing for the international community's scarce resources, Liberia's peace process needs to keep up its momentum, and President Charles Taylor's critics need to...