SUMMARY
The Military faction (forces of Samuel Doe) was an armed that mounted a successful coup d’état against the Government of Liberia on 12 April 1980. Doe, who held the rank of Master Sergeant in the Liberian Army, initiated the coup following a period of increased popular discontent with the Government of Liberia. Doe’s faction, which claimed to represent Liberia’s “indigenous” population, was opposed to the domination of Liberian politics by the Americo-Liberians, a small minority of the country’s population that descended from former American slaves. Just a few months before the coup, the Liberian President William R. Tolbert had violently cracked down on the political opposition; it was in this context that Doe decided to seize power. Other than his opposition against the Americo-Liberian domination of Liberian society, it was generally believed that Doe did not have a specific ideological direction. Doe himself claimed that Tolbert’s regime was responsible for poverty, unemployment, rampant corruption, rapidly increasing living-costs, and arbitrary repression.
The military faction was made up of approximately 600 soldiers from the Krahn tribe, of which Doe was also a member. Several other non-commissioned officers from the Liberian Army also joined Master Sergeant Doe in the coup. In general, the forces involved in the coup were of low rank, and came from Liberia’s “indigenous” population. It has also been suggested that Doe had connections to the People’s Progressive party, an outlawed opposition party that was involved in the protests against President Tolbert. After the coup, Doe declared emergency laws and established the People's Redemption Council (PRC), thus assuming control over the Government of Liberia. Doe’s forces executed many former government officials, and the PRC was to a large extent made up of opposition figures recently released from prison. For more information regarding Doe’s subsequent rule, please consult the Government of Liberia actor page.
While such allegations have never been confirmed, it has been claimed that the United States, especially the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), supported Doe’s faction in conducting the coup. It has for example been suggested that the United States may have supplied Doe’s forces with maps over Tolbert’s mansion, where he was captured and killed. In any case, the United States would later provide extensive aid to the Doe-led government.
