SUMMARY
ULIMO (United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy) was a Liberian rebel group founded in Conakry, Guinea, by prominent ex-politicians of predominantly Krahn and Mandingo ethnicity. Given the dominating ethnicity of the group ULIMO was bent on halting the advances of rival rebel groups, representing different ethnicities, namely NPFL (National Patriotic Front of Liberia) representing the Gio and Mano ethnicities, active in Liberia at the time. Its first course of action was to release a statement accusing Charles Taylor, leader of NPFL of being an evildoer that had to be held responsible for his heinous acts. Further ULIMO issued a fifteen day time limit for Taylor to capitulate, failure to comply would instigate an effort by ULIMO to capture Taylor and defeat NPFL militarily.
ULIMO was from the onset supported by the Sierra Leonean Government, and by top ranking officials from ECOMOG (Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group). The support from the Sierra Leonean government was in connection to the fact that ULIMO had aided it in its conflict with the Sierra Leonean rebel group RUF (United Revolutionary Front) fighting alongside the Sierra Leonean government. As for ECOMOG; they were also fighting Taylor, which meant that ULIMO was seen as a possible ally. The support for ULIMO by ECOMOG was however not official and is disputed. The regional dynamic and the multiple actors involved in the violent domestic politics of Liberia at the time were, to say the least, complicated. One predominant factor was however, as mentioned above ethnicity. In this setting ULIMO was founded, its political aims were very much in line with the fact that ULIMO were mainly Krahn and Mandingo ethnicity, advocating an offensive politic towards rival ethnicities.
ULIMO was, as mentioned above, founded in Guinea, but it was from Sierra Leone that the incursions and clashes originated. Over the course of its existence as an organised group ULIMO made substantial territorial advances into the western parts of Liberia and by the end of 1992 ULIMO was fighting to gain control of the capital Monrovia. In the process of advancing towards Monrovia ULIMO conquered a vast majority of the diamond rich areas in the region between Monrovia and the Sierra Leonean border. The control over these areas became an important source of income, and would eventually lead to infighting that forced a split in ULIMO. Prior to the split, ULIMO’s leader was Raleigh Seekie, a former deputy financial minister in the Doe government. Seekie managed to win support from a large number of exiled Liberians, mainly Liberians of Krahn and Mandingo ethnicity who had been driven from their homes by the raging civil war in Liberia. Seekie’s leadership was in place until the infighting within ULIMO became too intense, and ULIMO was split into ULIMO-J and ULIMO-K. ULIMO split along ethnic lines, ULIMO-J, an ethnic Krahn faction led by Roosevelt Johnson and ULIMO-K an ethnic Mandingo faction led by Alhaji G.V Kromah.
ULIMO has been involved in the non-state and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
