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TESTIMONIES
Human Rights Abuses by Liberia Government Soldiers
· A thirty-year-old Gbandi man from Popalahun described how scores of Gbandi civilians hiding in the forest were rounded up by AFL soldiers in mid September 2001, and later killed in nearby Kamatehun; over thirty were burned in houses and some fifteen were executed on the orders of Commander "Zizemaza," allegedly the commander of the "Jungle Force" AFL Division. He described how Gbandi people were targeted for their perceived support of the LURD:
We'd been living with the LURD people from March through August [2001] without too much trouble. In early September, we were attacked by the AFL and fled into the bush. A few days later, the AFL caught us and brought about eighty-five of us to Kamatehun where we were brought before Commander Zizemaza. He pointed at us and said: "You Gbandi people are the brothers and wives of the dissidents. We told you to go to Monrovia but you didn't agree. We'll kill any Gbandi person we see-so kill them." There were over one hundred AFL soldiers; some RUF people were among them. Then thirty or so people, including my mother and sister, were tied with rope and put inside three houses. They begged, but the soldiers slapped them and told them to shut up. Then the soldiers lit the houses on fire, and stood guard at the doors to make sure our people didn't escape. After that Zizemaza ordered about fifteen people to be killed-their throats were cut in the middle of the town square. They took the rest of us to Vahun and along the way set many villages on fire.8
· A Sierra Leonean refugee living in Liberia was caught hiding in the forest in October 2001 by AFL troops, and later taken to Vahun. He described how six men were executed for refusing to join the government forces, and six others burned in a house, again on the orders of Commander Zizemaza:
After catching eighteen of us, the AFL troops gave us ammunition to carry and we walked for three hours before reaching Vahun. There, we saw hundreds of troops in yellow t-shirts with `Jungle Lion' written on them. The commander was one Zizemaza. They separated us by tribe: Kissis, Gbandis, and Sierra Leoneans. Then he ordered the heads of many of the young men to be shaved and told them they were going to be soldiers. I tried to defend myself by saying I was a Sierra Leonean and six others protested, saying they didn't want that life. Hearing that, Zizemaza said: "You're the ones who brought war to Kolahun. Take them behind the house and finish them." We heard the "pa, pa, pa" of the gun six times and a later saw them lying dead. A few minutes later, six villagers, including women, were dragged inside a house and burned alive. We heard the soldiers saying: "Get rid of these Gbandi people."9
· Two brothers, twenty-nine and seventeen years of age, from Kolahun, Lofa County, were caught in fighting as their town fell several times to rebel control. In December 2001, after government forces retook Kolahun, the two brothers witnessed AFL violence, rape, forced recruitment, and looting:
The AFL troops rounded everyone up and brought us into the town. The commander was Col. Stanley. They took everything from us-money, clothes, documents. They beat people and threatened to kill them, calling them rebel sympathizers. They were opening doors of houses and shooting at people in their houses. They were also burning houses. We were taken as a group and locked in one house at night. Three soldiers took six women-one was a young girl of twelve and another was pregnant-they were raped until about 4:00 a.m. We could hear them crying in the other room. In the morning they were brought back. They were weak. They told us: "They used us last night. We can't do anything." The pregnant woman told me that three men had raped her. The next day, the rebels attacked. The AFL soldiers made us carry their looted goods and flee with them to Foya, which was two-and-a-half hours away. Even the raped women were made to carry things for them. At Foya, we were made to take up arms for the AFL. They forced all the men to take up arms or be killed. We were finally able to escape on February 3, 2002 when rebels attacked again.10
· A twelve-year-old-boy who was also present when government forces recaptured Kolahun described how he was wounded, and at least five others killed, when AFL soldiers opened fire indiscriminately on civilians in December 2001:
The LURD told us the AFL were on the way and it was best for us to stay hiding in our houses. Then on Christmas day it happened. The fighting was heavy, and after several hours, the AFL captured the town. About twenty of us were hiding in one house. We heard a soldier yell, "give us the money," and then without giving us time to respond, they walked in and started spraying us with bullets. There was blood everywhere and five people were killed. I had been hit in the leg. There were so many others killed by the soldiers that day in Kolahun.11
· A thirty-five-year-old Gbandi woman from Kolahun witnessed AFL soldiers abducting women and girls, burning people in houses, and looting:
I was captured by the AFL on December 23, 2001. I was with my daughter and my sister's daughter. My sister had gone to look for food for us. The soldiers told me to come with them. I told them that I couldn't carry two babies, so they threatened to kill one of them. So I picked them both up and carried the two babies. I was beaten with the back of their guns for not walking fast enough. They took me, and about seventy others, to Yenahun. Before getting into town they separated all the young girls of about ten years old and up. I was almost taken, but I begged, saying I had two small children. So I was left. I know one woman in her twenties who was raped and then brought back. We were taken to Kamatehun with the AFL. We were too scared to leave-I saw them shoot one family, a man, wife, and their son, for trying to leave. While I was there with them, the women were made to look for food to cook for them. I saw four big houses there-burned down. Inside were burned bodies of all sizes. They had burned people alive. The AFL commander there was Col. Zizemaza. The AFL was stealing the zinc roofing from the buildings and making us carry it over the Sierra Leone border to sell it for them. I carried ten sheets, and when I got to Sierra Leone, I was able to escape. Both my baby and my sister's baby died of sickness. I am here as a refugee alone.12
· A seventeen-year-old girl from Polmawan was abducted and raped by an AFL soldier around December 2001. She said:
I had been fleeing fighting for a year, living in the bush after the rebels attacked Foya. My father and brother were shot. Eventually, my mother and I were found hiding by government AFL troops. When they found us, they rounded up a group of us, and then escorted us to the Sierra Leone border. But as we were about to go over, one AFL soldier Daniel Madamooka, a bodyguard of the AFL commander Mummy Wata [the name of a powerful mythical West African goddess], separated me from the rest of the crowd. My mother was crying, begging for him to let me go. I was crying. He took me back to Foya with him. I was made to cook, wash clothes, and collect food for him. For two nights he tried to sleep with me, and I refused. Finally, he forced himself on me. I cried because it hurt. I saw other girls like myself. When they capture you, they say: "You are my woman." He did this to me for five nights. After some time, the rebels attacked Foya and I was able to escape to Sierra Leone in February 2002.13
· A twenty-six-year-old Kpelle man was in Sawmill when the AFL retook the town in January 2002. He was sleeping in a house with his thirty-year-old sister and her small son. Upon hearing noise outside early in the morning, his sister awoke, took her son by the hand, and went to the door to look out. One of a group of AFL officers standing outside shot the woman pointblank in the head. The brother said:
I heard the shooting and I rushed to the front door. I found my sister lying dead at the entrance. Her forehead was blown off. I tried to come out to get her son who had darted into the garden, but the AFL soldiers were shouting: "Don't come out." I called for her son to come back in. He finally ran in. He had been shot in his right hand. The bullet had passed right through his hand. I could hear the group of about thirty AFL soldiers talking outside. One of them was saying: "Who told you to fire. The damn girl has died." 14
· A twenty-six-year-old man in Klay was detained with three others by ATU officers in February 2002; they were accused of being rebels and tortured:
They arrested us in the evening around 8:00 p.m. at the joint security office at the Klay gate. They made us stand for one hour upside down against the wall, on our hands with our feet against the wall. Then they beat our hands with their gun butts whenever we put a foot back on the ground. They put a gun in my mouth and they said, "Eat Charles Taylor's biscuit." I was then put into a cell and held overnight. The next morning, we were made to clean up the area, cut the grass and bush, and then released. 15
· A Mandingo shop owner from Masambalahun described how AFL soldiers detained three youths in September 2001 whom they accused of being LURD supporters and later killed. He fled to Sierra Leone in December 2001, after his forty-three-year-old brother was killed by AFL soldiers as they looted his shop:
I'm a businessman and also a Mandingo-which is not easy these days. On September 2, 2001, things were pretty tense and there were rumors of a rebel attack. In the afternoon, as several of my friends had gathered around the shop to talk, three of them-two Mandingos and one Gbandi-were arrested by AFL Lt. Mustapha who accused them of waiting for the rebels to come into town. He said, "Don't worry, we're going to kill you before your brothers [the LURD] come in to town." Later that night we heard cries coming from the AFL headquarters, and the next morning the AFL told us to come and get the body of M. He was bleeding from his mouth and nose, and had marks all over his body. Later we saw the other two being put on a truck and driven away, and the next day a friend coming from Vahun said he'd seen their bodies lying on the road. I finally decided to leave on December 18, 2001 after the AFL attacked and looted all the property from my shop, and beat my elder brother to death for refusing to tell them where we'd hidden the generator. I'd had enough.16
· A surgical nurse who operated a small make-shift hospital in Sasahun, watched as AFL troops under the command of Colonel Stanley, looted the village and summarily executed his wife and five others, including a patient recovering from an appendix operation, in April 2001:
After nearby Kolahun fell to the dissidents, the retreating government soldiers flooded into our town. They were on the rampage-looting, beating, swearing. I guess they were angry because they'd been forced out by the dissidents. About fifty of them surrounded the clinic, and tied me and six others up. They stripped us, poked us with bayonets and beat us until we were all bleeding. They said, "You're all dissidents-you want to stay here and support your Mandingo, Muslim brothers." They asked my wife for money. She gave them some, but kept our savings hidden. They eventually found it and were so angry that they shot her in the back right in our bedroom. Then Stanley said: "They're our enemy, kill the others.' Three AFL soldiers; Dragon, Digger, and Rasta, shot the other five including one of my patients. I escaped several hours later and eventually found my children hiding in the bush. I gathered them together and had to tell them that their mother was dead. We all cried together and after that I decided to flee.17
· A twenty-six-year-old man traveling through checkpoints in Cape Mount County in March 2002 saw five men from his neighborhood that he knew who had been forcibly conscripted. Although not uniformed, these men were armed and guarding the government army checkpoints. He said:
After the president made a speech in February [2002] saying certain areas in Monrovia were harboring rebel collaborators, hundreds of men were arrested. Street boys were also being rounded up. The SOD [Special Operations Division] police arrived heavily armed in landcruiser jeeps. Men in my neighborhood of Duala were arrested and taken to the national police headquarters. I slept in the ceiling that night. Before I could leave the house the next morning, the security forces entered and arrested my brother and his friend (a Sierra Leonean refugee). They were taken to the National Police headquarters, where some people were beaten with gun butts and belts. I was lucky that they didn't find me hiding. My brother was released the next day after paying the police L$1,000 (approximately U.S. $17.00). I am still worried about my brother's friend who is a Sierra Leonean refugee, because he had no one to bring money to get him out. One friend of mine who works with the ATU [Anti-Terrorist Unit] told me: "If the rebels continue to advance, this will affect young men." I decided to leave the country. I took transport to the Sierra Leone border; there was heavy security at checkpoints. On the way, I saw friends of mine guarding the road at Klay. They were not wearing uniforms, but they had AK 47 guns. One of them, Eric, who used to grind cassava at the market, saw me and came over to smoke a cigarette with me while we waited for the security check. He told me: "They brought us here by force from the prison. They told the ones that didn't have any money to pay them to join the army or we would be sent to a death camp." I also saw four other people I knew there: Emmanuel, who sold things in Duala market; Samuel, who sold shoes in Duala; Safaa, who used to be a car boy; and Manny, a Kru tailor. At the border checkpoint into Sierra Leone, the Liberian security took L$250 (U.S.$4) from me and my Walkman before letting me pass.18
· A university student described how he was arrested in February 2002 in Monrovia while on a visit to his mother:
I was arrested with two other friends of mine by the SOD police. The police were shouting: "You people are terrorists." We were taken to the national police headquarters and lined up in front of the building. There were about one hundred other men. A black car with black tinted windows drove by slowly. There was someone inside the car pointing out people; there were about twenty who were taken to one side and classified as terrorists. The rest of us were taken to the cells downstairs and told to pay L$1,000 (U.S.$17). Once you paid, you were released, but because the searches were ongoing, you could be rearrested if you were not careful. Some people with ties to the former ULIMO rebel group were being taken in every day for questioning.19
Human Rights Abuses by Rebel LURD Forces
· A young woman described how her husband and seven other civilians were summarily executed in October 2001 by LURD forces near Foya:
The ULIMO [some interviewees referred to LURD as ULIMO] soldiers collected eighteen of us from the bushes and brought us to their commander, Col. Rambo. They beat us and accused of us giving food and information to the government troops. They separated the men from the women and then the commander said: "These people are our enemy. They should be killed." My husband, his father and brothers were told to lie down face up, and they were shot one after the other. My mother-in-law watched as her husband and three sons were murdered before her eyes.20
· A woman from Faasa in Foya District, whose husband was killed in 1993 during the last war, described her son's abduction by the rebels:
LURD forces came into the villages and asked for our sons to fight with them. My son of eighteen was taken from me. We were all crying. They also asked for money. I paid them what I had, but they still would not release my son. I know another woman who was also crying, and so they gave her back her youngest son, her last child who was ten years old.21
· A doctor who was serving at Foya Hospital witnessed LURD forces killing, looting, and burning the hospital:
The LURD dissidents attacked Foya first on February 8, 2001. There was a lot of shooting and the dissidents killed two people. The AFL pushed them out of town. On April 2, 2001, there was a second attack. The dissidents burnt down the hospital, looted the town and killed civilians including my mother Masia. The dissidents also took a number of boys away, we don't know what has happened to them.22
· A seventeen-year-old woman from Foya, Lofa County was captured and raped by LURD rebels in mid-2001. After raping her, they left her, bleeding from the vagina.
I was caught after I ran away from my home with my grandmother. My grandmother was killed, and I lived for six months in the surrounding bush area. I was captured by two LURD rebels dressed in red t-shirts and red headbands who told me they were fighting the government. They told me that they would kill me if I resisted them, and then both raped me. After raping me, they left me bleeding. I was sick for a long time, and did not have my period for six months. Even now, I have pain in my stomach.23
· A woman from Foya district reported being subjected to forced labor and raped by LURD soldiers:
They made us fetch water, cook, beat rice and go out to the bush to get food from the surrounding villages. Once, sometime in July [2001] one rebel forced me in an abandoned house and told the other two rebels to stand guard at the doors. Then he forced himself on me. What could I do? I was afraid to say anything to the commanders.24
· A man from Masambalahun described the abusive practices of LURD Commander Blackie, who forced men to carry ammunition and looted goods, and then shot two of them for walking too slowly. His twelve-year-old son was forcefully abducted by the same commander.
Everyone knew when Commander Blackie was in control, we should all stay the hell out of the way. He was always forcing the strong men to carry ammunition and goods from Massabalahun to Fassama to Kolahun. Once I saw his people shoot two civilians for walking too slowly. One of them was brought to Kolahun where he later died. In December [2001] those people captured my twelve-year-old son and took him to Foya for training. I later heard they took him to Fassama where there was fighting going on. Of course he wasn't the only boy taken-but he's the one I care about. He was my firstborn son and now he's gone. 25
Human Rights Watch
Africa Division
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Its Africa division was established in 1988 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights in sub-Saharan Africa. Peter Takirambudde is the executive director; Bronwen Manby is the deputy director; Janet Fleischman is the Washington director; Alison Des Forges is the senior adviser; Suliman Ali Baldo and Alex Vines are senior researchers; Binaifer Nowrojee and Jemera Rone are counsels; Carina Tertsakian and Lars Waldorf are researchers; Juliane Kippenberg is the NGO Liaison; Caroline Conway and Jeff Scott are associates; Corinne Dufka, Sara Rakita, and Tony Tate are consultants. Vincent Mai is the chair of the advisory committee.
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8 Human Rights Watch interview, March 21, 2002 (names and locations have been withheld to protect the safety of the victims).
9 Human Rights Watch interview, March 20, 2002.
10 Human Rights Watch interview, March 18, 2002.
11 Human Rights Watch interview, March 20, 2002.
12 Human Rights Watch interview, March 18, 2002.
13 Human Rights Watch interview, March 20, 2002.
14 Human Rights Watch interview, March 18, 2002.
15 Human Rights Watch interview, March 18, 2002.
16 Human Rights Watch interview, March 17, 2002.
17 Human Rights Watch interview, November 13, 2001.
18 Human Rights Watch interview, March 17, 2002.
19 Human Rights Watch interview, March 17, 2002.
20 Human Rights Watch interview, March 16, 2002.
21 Human Rights Watch interview, March 16, 2002.
22 Human Rights Watch interview, March 12, 2002.
23 Human Rights Watch interview, March 16, 2002.
24 Human Rights Watch interview, March 16, 2002.
25 Human Rights Watch interview, March 21, 2002.
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