The Armed Forces of Liberia : BUILDING A FORCE FOR GOOD.
The Transformation of the Liberian Armed Forces and the Civil War, 1986–1997
REORGANIZATION AND MODERNIZATION UNDER PRES. DOE (1980–1989)
Under the administration of President Samuel Kanyon Doe, the Liberian Coast Guard was officially renamed the Liberian Navy through the passage of the Liberian Navy Act of 1986. This legislative measure reflected Doe’s broader ambition to modernize, expand, and institutionalize the maritime arm of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), aligning it with conventional naval doctrines and command structures modeled after other national militaries.
The Aviation Unit of the AFL had been established earlier, in 1970, following the delivery of three Cessna U-17C light aircraft from the United States. However, the fledgling unit suffered a setback when one of its aircraft crashed at Spriggs Payne Airfield in 1984. Despite this early loss, by 1985 the Aviation Unit had become fully operational, maintaining three fixed-wing aircraft—primarily Cessna 172s—from its base at Spriggs Payne Airport in Monrovia. The unit’s primary functions included aerial reconnaissance, light transport, and VIP conveyance for government officials.
Throughout the 1980s, the unit expanded its fleet, acquiring three additional Cessna 172s, one Cessna 206, one Cessna 207, and two single-engine turboprop Cessna 208s. In recognition of its growing capacity and strategic significance, the Liberian Air Force (LAF) was formally established from the Aviation Unit by an Act of the Legislature on August 12, 1987.
According to its founding statute, the LAF was tasked to: Protect and defend Liberia’s airspace, lives, and property; Provide air mobility for both military and civilian operations; Conduct search-and-rescue and emergency missions;
Carry out aerial reconnaissance and participate in joint military operations; and Perform other duties as directed by the Ministry of National Defense.
The Air Force was commanded by a colonel serving as Assistant Chief of Staff for the Air Force, responsible for personnel training, doctrinal development, and advising the Chief of Staff of the AFL on air operations. In 1989, the Air Force received additional aircraft—including two refurbished DHC-4 Caribou transports, one Piper Aztec light twin-engine aircraft, and three IAI Arava STOL transports—which significantly improved its mobility and operational reach across the subregion.
THE OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR (1989–1990):
On Christmas Eve, 1989, Charles Ghankay Taylor launched an armed rebellion against the Doe government, crossing into Liberia from Côte d’Ivoire at Butuo, Nimba County, with approximately 150 fighters. This marked the beginning of the First Liberian Civil War (1989–1997).
President Doe ordered two AFL battalions under Colonel J. Hezekiah Bowen to suppress the insurgency. However, the government’s counterinsurgency campaign in Nimba County quickly degenerated into widespread brutality. AFL troops indiscriminately targeted civilians of the Mano and Gio ethnic groups, accusing them of supporting Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). These massacres alienated the local population and accelerated NPFL recruitment.
As the conflict expanded, the AFL suffered mass desertions and defections. Many soldiers either abandoned their posts or joined the rebels. By mid-1990, following a series of failed command reshuffles, the AFL’s cohesion had disintegrated. Colonel Bowen’s units were defeated at Gbarnga, and Buchanan soon fell to rebel control. The NPFL’s strength swelled to nearly 10,000 combatants, while the AFL’s effective fighting force dwindled to fewer than 2,000 men.
By July 1990, NPFL fighters had reached the outskirts of Monrovia. General Henry Dubar, then Chief of Staff, fled into exile in the United States and was replaced by Brigadier General Charles Julu, commander of the Executive Mansion Guard Battalion. Julu later deserted, and Colonel David Sieh Brapoh, Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations (G-3), was appointed Chief of Staff—only to be killed later under unclear circumstances during internal mutinies.
COLLAPSE OF THE ARMED FORCES OF LIBERIA (AFL) AND HUMANITARIAN TRAGEDY (1990) During the fierce battles for Bushrod Island and Central Monrovia, two Liberian Navy vessels were destroyed by forces loyal to Prince Y. Johnson’s Independent NPFL (INPFL). In the countryside, the NPFL armed Gio civilians, many of whom sought vengeance for the government’s earlier reprisals following the failed coups led by General Thomas Quiwonkpa in 1983 and 1985.
As the regime weakened, Doe’s government distributed weapons to loyalist Krahn and Mandingo civilians, forming irregular militias collectively known as the “1990 Soldiers.” Personally organized by the President, these groups became key actors in atrocities committed in and around Monrovia.
One such group, the Executive Special Task Force, led by Lieutenant Colonel Tailey Yonbu, along with Major George Dweh, Major Neezee Barway, and Lieutenant Bobby Kpoto, was identified as responsible for the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Massacre on the night of July 29–30, 1990, during which approximately 600 civilians mostly Gio and Mandingo refugees—were killed. they also killed Liberia America Princess Thomas a student from Bromley, Asst Police Director for Public Affairs Robert Quiah, Minister Johnny Kpor, Doris Toweh Gballah, one indian national, John Bright, Naomi Gooding, Mrs & Mrs.Samuel D.Green, Archie Greene,Mr & Mrs Johnny Nah, Melvin Kaykai of Liberia National Police.
Allegations later emerged accusing Colonel Moses Thomas, then head of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SATU), of involvement in the massacre. However, several Liberian figures, including former Interim President Amos Sawyer and members of Bishop Diggs’ family, publicly wrote to U.S. authorities defending Col. Thomas, asserting his non-involvement. Copies of these correspondences remain part of the historical record of that controversy.
Elsewhere, the Joint Security Commander for the Virginia area, Major Henry Johnson, and his deputies Lieutenant Andrew Johnson and Lieutenant Arthur Nyanabo, carried out similar atrocities in Clay Ashland, while Van Richards, James Coleman, and Butler Freeman perpetrated killings in surrounding settlements. These atrocities deepened ethnic divisions and transformed Liberia’s conflict into a full-scale ethnic civil war.
REGION REGIONAL INTERVENTION AND PROLONGED CONFLICT (1990–1996):
In August 1990, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) intervened militarily, forming the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), which landed at the Freeport of Monrovia on August 24, 1990, aboard Nigerian and Ghanaian naval vessels. The peacekeeping force quickly became entangled in clashes between Taylor’s NPFL and Johnson’s INPFL, both vying for control of the capital.
A succession of peace initiatives—including the Bamako Conference (November 1990), the Lomé Conference (January 1991), and the Yamoussoukro I–IV Agreements (1991–1992)—collapsed amid continued hostilities. Even the Cotonou Accord of 1993, backed by The Carter Center, failed to secure a lasting ceasefire.
In October 1992, Taylor’s NPFL launched “Operation Octopus,” a major offensive on Monrovia that reignited full-scale warfare and prolonged the conflict for another four years. Not until the Abuja Accords of August 1996 did sustained hostilities begin to subside.
AFTER THE RESTRUCTURING EFFORTS (1997 and Beyond): Throughout the war years, remnants of the AFL remained confined to the Barclay Training Center (BTC) and the Executive Mansion grounds, holding out until the final demobilization and retirement program initiated under ECOMOG supervision in 2005.
Under ECOMOG’s oversight, general elections were held in 1997, bringing Charles Taylor to power. Although the Abuja Peace Framework authorized ECOMOG to oversee the retraining and restructuring of a new, ethnically balanced national army, Taylor’s administration barred ECOMOG from direct participation in the process. By late 1998, the peacekeeping mission had fully withdrawn, leaving behind a fragile security apparatus that would once again disintegrate during the renewed civil war of the early 2000s.
SEE YOU TOMORROW FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE ARMED FORCES OF LIBERIA.
