National Patriotic Front of Liberia
Encyclopedia
The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) was a rebel group that initiated and participated in the First Liberian Civil War from 1989 to 1996.
on 24 December 1989. Most NPFL fighters were originally drawn from the Gio
and Mano ethnic groups of northern Liberia
who were persecuted under Doe's regime.
, Côte d'Ivoire
and Burkina Faso
, especially in the early years of the war. Popular support within Liberia helped the group grow from an initial force numbering in the low hundreds to a large irregular army which occupied around 80 percent of the country in less than a year.
NPFL efforts to capture the capital city of Monrovia
were thwarted by the arrival of the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) cease-fire monitoring group, ECOMOG. They instead set up in 1991 an alternative national administration (the National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government
- NPRAG) based in the Bong County
town of Gbarnga
. Taylor's authority as self-proclaimed head of the NPRAG was, however, challenged by a breakaway faction, known as the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia
(INPFL), led by Prince Yormie Johnson, whose troops, estimated to number less than 500, rapidly gained control of parts of central Monrovia.
(AFL) and United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy
(ULIMO) forces. Another NPFL breakaway group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia-Central Revolutionary Council
(NPFL-CRC), emerged in mid-1994. Prominent figures in the faction were Sam Dokie and Tom Woewiyu, a defense chief in Taylor's alternative government. Both men cited strategic and ideological differences as the cause of their defection.
Following negotiations, rebel group members occupied positions in the transitional government, but fighting continued well into early 1996.
The warring factions, including the NPFL, signed the ECOWAS-mediated Abuja Accord supplement on 17 August 1996, resulting in an immediate cessation of military hostilities.
abuses including massacres, torture
, kidnapping
and a number of political assassination
s. In addition to the war in Liberia, the rebel group sponsored Revolutionary United Front
(RUF) subversion against the military government in Sierra Leone
, partly as a strategy to gain control of the local trade in diamond
s.
(NPP). Charles Taylor and the NPP won the 19 July 1997 election with a substantial majority. While international observers deemed the polls administratively free and transparent, they noted that it had taken place in an atmosphere of intimidation because most voters believed that Taylor would resume the war if defeated.
Leadership
Led by Charles Taylor, a former government official who was being sought for trial on charges of corruption, the NPFL took up arms against the regime of Samuel DoeSamuel Doe
Samuel Kanyon Doe was the 21st President of Liberia, serving from 1986 until his assassination in 1990. He had previously served as Chairman of the People's Redemption Council from 1980 to 1986. He was the first indigenous head of state in Liberian history.Doe was a part of a rural tribe in inland...
on 24 December 1989. Most NPFL fighters were originally drawn from the Gio
Gio Tribe
The Gio or Dan people is an ethnic group in north-eastern Liberia and in Côte d'Ivoire. The Dan are an ethnic group located in the West African countries of Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. There are approximately 350,000 members of the group, united by the Dan language, a Mande language...
and Mano ethnic groups of northern Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
who were persecuted under Doe's regime.
Support
Taylor's NPFL enjoyed the active backing of LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
and Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, especially in the early years of the war. Popular support within Liberia helped the group grow from an initial force numbering in the low hundreds to a large irregular army which occupied around 80 percent of the country in less than a year.
NPFL efforts to capture the capital city of Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
were thwarted by the arrival of the Economic Community of West African States
Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region....
(ECOWAS) cease-fire monitoring group, ECOMOG. They instead set up in 1991 an alternative national administration (the National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government
National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government
The National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government was a self-declared, alternative administration established in early 1991 in areas held by the rebel National Patriotic Front of Liberia during the country's civil war. It was formed in opposition to the internationally recognized Interim...
- NPRAG) based in the Bong County
Bong County
Bong is a county in the north-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has twelve districts. Gbarnga serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring...
town of Gbarnga
Gbarnga
Gbarnga is the capital city of Bong County, Liberia, lying north east of Monrovia. Bong County is one of the over 13 political subdivisions of Liberia known as counties. During the First Liberian Civil War, it was the base for Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia...
. Taylor's authority as self-proclaimed head of the NPRAG was, however, challenged by a breakaway faction, known as the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia
Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia
The Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia was a rebel group that participated in the First Liberian Civil War under the leadership of Prince Johnson...
(INPFL), led by Prince Yormie Johnson, whose troops, estimated to number less than 500, rapidly gained control of parts of central Monrovia.
Operation Octopus
In late 1992, the NPFL launched 'Operation Octopus' which was repulsed by combined ECOMOG, Armed Forces of LiberiaArmed Forces of Liberia
The Armed Forces of Liberia are the armed forces of the Republic of Liberia. Founded as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908, the military was retitled in 1956. For virtually all of its history, the AFL has received considerable materiel and training assistance from the United States. For most of...
(AFL) and United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy
United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy
The United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy was a rebel group that participated in the First Liberian Civil War ....
(ULIMO) forces. Another NPFL breakaway group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia-Central Revolutionary Council
National Patriotic Front of Liberia-Central Revolutionary Council
The National Patriotic Front of Liberia-Central Revolutionary Council was a rebel group that participated in the First Liberian Civil War...
(NPFL-CRC), emerged in mid-1994. Prominent figures in the faction were Sam Dokie and Tom Woewiyu, a defense chief in Taylor's alternative government. Both men cited strategic and ideological differences as the cause of their defection.
Following negotiations, rebel group members occupied positions in the transitional government, but fighting continued well into early 1996.
The warring factions, including the NPFL, signed the ECOWAS-mediated Abuja Accord supplement on 17 August 1996, resulting in an immediate cessation of military hostilities.
Membership
The NPFL was estimated to have around 25,000 combatants and has orchestrated a wide range of human rightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
abuses including massacres, torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
and a number of political assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
s. In addition to the war in Liberia, the rebel group sponsored Revolutionary United Front
Revolutionary United Front
The Revolutionary United Front was a rebel army that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later developed into a political party, which existed until 2007...
(RUF) subversion against the military government in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, partly as a strategy to gain control of the local trade in diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s.
Political Aspirations
In preparation for upcoming elections that would take place in 1997, the NPFL reorganized itself into a civilian political party known as the National Patriotic PartyNational Patriotic Party
The National Patriotic Party is a political party in Liberia. It was formed in 1997 by members of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia following the end of the First Liberian Civil War....
(NPP). Charles Taylor and the NPP won the 19 July 1997 election with a substantial majority. While international observers deemed the polls administratively free and transparent, they noted that it had taken place in an atmosphere of intimidation because most voters believed that Taylor would resume the war if defeated.
Further reading
- Stephen Ellis, The Mask of Anarchy, 2001
- http://www.wri-irg.org/programmes/world_survey/reports/Liberia
- Global Witness, Taylor-made: The Pivotal Role of Liberia's Forests and Flag of Convenience in Regional Conflict, September 2001