April 30, 1996
Web posted at: 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT)

The Republic of Liberia, on the Atlantic coast in West Africa, was founded in 1847 by former American slaves who settled at what is now Monrovia. They did not include the country's natives in their new venture, and that rift has never healed.

The Americo-Liberians and their descendants imposed a kind of apartheid, angering indigenous tribes. They ruled the country until 1980, when native Liberian Samuel K. Doe overthrew the American-descended president, William Tolbert, and imposed martial law. A new constitution restored civilian elections in the mid-1980s, but Doe remained in power.

The country has been locked in a brutal civil war since 1990, when opposition factions led by Charles Taylor and Prince Johnson toppled Doe after almost a year of fighting. Doe, leader of the minority Krahn tribe, was tortured to death.

The rebel alliance disintegrated as various warlords battled for political power and financial gain. Among them was Taylor, the dominant figure on Liberia's interim six-member ruling State Council, which took office in September 1995.

Taylor, a descendent of the American settlers, commands the country's most powerful armed group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, and has overcome several political challengers over the years.

He returned to Liberia after bribing his way out of a Massachusetts prison, where he was awaiting extradition to Liberia on embezzlement charges.

Renewed fighting

The most recent carnage, much of it by armed adolescents, broke out April 6 when Taylor moved in to arrest rebel leader and one-time government minister Roosevelt Johnson -- no relation to Prince Johnson -- on charges of murder. The charges stemmed from the murder by rebels of 50 civilians at a refugee camp in January.

Fighting erupted between ethnic Krahn fighters loyal to Johnson and those loyal to Taylor and another faction leader, Alhaji Kromah, who also is on the council. Johnson and members of his breakaway faction of the United Liberation Movement holed up in barracks in downtown Monrovia.

Some West African peacekeepers, mostly Nigerians who are supposed to be trying to unite the various factions, joined in the extensive looting. Amid the chaos, the United States airlifted more than 2,000 people, including 400 Americans, to neighboring Sierra Leone.

The Monrovia barracks, the training ground for Doe's former national army, the Armed Forces of Liberia, is now the symbol of resistance for the Krahn tribe.

Peace plan

The latest fighting unraveled a peace plan signed in August 1995, the 13th such pact since 1989. Under the accord, the presidency is to rotate among warlords on the State Council until elections can be held. Those elections are tentatively set for this summer. The last general election was in 1985.

Johnson is bitter over not being given a seat on the council, which has civilian members in addition to faction leaders.

The peace plan calls for the disarmament of 60,000 guerrillas to pave the way for the elections.

Country devastated

About 200,000 people have been killed in the civil war and at least half of the country's 2.8 million residents have been left homeless.

The fighting has destroyed much of Liberia's economy, as roads and other infrastructure in and around Monrovia have been badly damaged. Businessmen have fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them.

Political instability threatens prospects for economic reconstruction and the repatriation of about 750,000 Liberian refugees who have fled to other countries.

Liberia once had West Africa's most developed economy. It is richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture. Local manufacturing, mostly owned by non-Liberians, is limited.

Key events in the history of Liberia:

1817 -- The American Colonization Society, a private
organization seeking to resettle freed slaves, buys land in
Liberia. 1822 -- The first blacks settle in Monrovia, now Liberia's
capital.1847 -- New arrivals, known as Americo-Liberians, declare the
territory an independent republic.1911 -- Liberia placed under U.S. protection because of
bankruptcy and internal disorder.April 1980 -- Rule by Americo-Liberians ends when Samuel K.
Doe overthrows and kills President William Tolbert and
imposes martial law.October 1985 -- Civilian rule restored in elections.January 1986 -- New constitution takes effect. Doe retains
power.December 1989 -- Charles Taylor's rebels invade from
neighboring Ivory Coast to overthrow Doe.August 1990 -- Instability of the country leads U.S. Marines
to rescue about 60 Americans from U.S. Embassy in Monrovia. September 1990 -- Constitutional government ends when
President Samuel Doe is murdered by rebel forces; civil war
follows. The West African Peacekeeping Force is established.August 1995 -- Peace treaty brokered in Abuja, Nigeria, by
the 16-member Economic Community of West African States. They
establish an interim State Council and set a tentative
timetable for elections.April 6, 1996 -- Fighting breaks out in Monrovia when Charles
Taylor tries to arrest rival warlord Roosevelt Johnson. U.S.
airlifts out Americans and citizens of other countries, the
third such airlift from Liberia since 1990.April 19, 1996 -- Cease-fire called, but sporatic fighting continued. American and Liberian
leaders begin meeting to get the peace process back on track
and keep Liberia from returning to civil war.