LiberiaData

Charles Taylor’s presidency did not bring peace. His government was characterized by authoritarianism, ethnic patronage, and economic predation compounded by an international dimension that would eventually bring him before a war crimes tribunal.

Sierra Leone and Blood Diamonds

Taylor used Liberia’s territory and resources to fund and support the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) — the rebel movement in neighboring Sierra Leone notorious for its extreme brutality, including the systematic use of amputations as a weapon of terror. Illegal trade in diamonds, so called ‘blood diamonds’, and timber provided the financial architecture for Taylor’s support of the RUF. In 2001, the United Nations Security Council imposed targeted sanctions on Liberia for this support.

The LURD and MODEL Insurgencies

In 1999, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), backed by neighboring Guinea, launched attacks on Taylor’s government from the north, entering through Lofa County. By 2003, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) had opened a southern front through Grand Gedeh County and River Gee County. Taylor’s government was caught between two insurgencies.

Indictment and Exile

In June 2003, the UN sponsored Special Court for Sierra Leone issued an indictment against Taylor for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the first time a sitting African head of state had been indicted by an international tribunal. On August 11, 2003, Taylor resigned the presidency and departed Liberia for exile in Nigeria under intense international pressure.

UNMIL, Trial, and Conviction

The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) began deploying in September 2003. An interim government under Gyude Bryant took power in October 2003. In March 2006, Nigeria extradited Taylor to The Hague. In 2012, Taylor was convicted of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Sources:
World Without Genocide [12b];
Britannica [5];
FamilySearch [13]