SUMMARY
In addition to engaging with the AFL (Armed Forces of Liberia) in intrastate armed conflict the NPFL, during its conflict with the Liberian government, engaged in one-sided violence against civilians. The group also committed widespread atrocities of other sorts, such as rape, looting, and the burning of villages. The Liberian civil conflicts, in general, were characterized by excessive brutality and bizarre events, such as instances of cannibalism, cross-dressing, and the use of black magic (known as juju magic) by combatants from the different warring parties.
The established reasons for the NPFL's violence against civilians stem from a variety of factors, and no one explanation can capture the motives of the entirety of the NPFL's combatants. Explanations can also be found both on a group and individual level of analysis.
In general one-sided violence against civilians took on an ethnic dimension (with exceptions however), with NPFL leader Charles Taylor ‘playing the ethnic card’ from the outset of the conflict. The Doe regime, which the NPFL opposed, had systematically promoted the Krahn and Mandingo ethnic groups (although not all members of these group benefited in any way from this), and in turn cracked down on the Gio and Mano groups, whose loyalty towards the regime Doe questioned for historical reasons. As the NPFL attack began in 1989 in Gio- and Mano-dominated Nimba County many Gio and Mano joined the NPFL's anti-Doe call as irregular forces, seeking revenge on those they deemed to be responsible for the harsh government measures against them; i.e. the Krahn and Mandingo people in general. This animosity was further heightened by the Liberian government’s one-sided killings of Gio and Mano in the initial stages of the NPFL invasion. As the conflict progressed the NPFL's ranks were swelled with undisciplined and untrained Gio and Mano irregulars seeking revenge on their ‘enemies’. Civilians from ethnic groups that spoke languages related to Krahn, or that were Muslim like the Mandingo, were also at risk of being killed in situations of mistaken identity.
This ethnic dimension (capitalized upon by Taylor) can however not account for the full scope of one-side violence by the NPFL. A particular ‘greed’ motive is also discernable, with men and women joining the NPFL and killing civilians in order to acquire valuable goods through looting. As was elaborated upon in the actor description of the NPFL good earnings could be made, personally and for the movement, from engaging in plunder as well as illicit smuggling operations in Liberia’s thriving war economy. Force was an effective way of securing access to valuable resources such as diamonds, ore, and timber. This greed motive combined with the ethnic dimension to create the notorious NPFL roadblocks, primarily around Monrovia, where cadres would stop, loot, and sometimes kill Krahn and Mandingos, people with any lootable goods, or just random civilians.
Other motives for violence against civilians can be found on the individual level. Whilst the two motives mentioned above –playing the ethnic card to win support and economic motivations- can be viewed as both personal and group goals, some analysts view NPFL violence against civilians as a way of settling personal grudges with perceived enemies or wrong-doers, or the simple pursuit of personal power, in an anarchical environment of opportunity.
Among NPFL cadres drinking and drug abuse were common, which of course also had implications for violence against civilians. NPFL commanders would often encourage or force their cadres to use marijuana, amphetamines or alcohol, so as to diminish fear and psychological obstacles to warfare and killing. It is highly likely that such substance abuse contributed to the sometimes senseless violence carried out by the combatants of the Liberian civil conflict.
Looking at how the violence was actually carried out exposes a few general patterns, such as the indiscriminate use of small arms fire, hacking and stabbing weapons such as machetes and summary executions. Many people were also burnt alive, most commonly after being forced into their houses or huts. Villages would commonly be surrounded and attacked, with indiscriminate killing, looting, and burning following.
It is worth noting that the NPFL's violence against civilians was not carried out only in Liberia, but also in the eastern and south-eastern areas of Sierra Leone where the NPFL had a strong presence at times during the conflict.
NPFL first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 1990, when the one-sided violence resulted in at least 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached in early January when at least 38 civilians were killed in Karnplay town, Nimba County.
