More Rapes Being Reported but Courts Fail to Keep Up

Monrovia – A frail girl sits quietly on a wooden bench. A silky dress is pulled over her knees. Her face is a vision of fear. Tracy, not her real name, is only ten, but she has already suffered the trauma of rape. This story first appeared on FrontPageAfricaOnline as part of a collaboration for the West Africa Justice…

Justice Seen as Solution for Post-War Land Conflict in Nimba

GANTA, Nimba County – Conflicts over land have long plagued Nimba County but the 14-year-civil war made the problem much worse. Now, 15 years from the end of the war, conflict over land is threatening to spill into violence once again. This story first appeared on The Daily Observer as part of a collaboration for the West Africa…

Liberia: ‘No War Crimes Court’, Say Some Victims

Monrovia – Fabine Kwiah was only a child when she and her two elder brothers Paul and Josephus Kwiah fled Fendell to Clara Town amid fierce fighting between soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and rebels of the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL). It was 1990 and the AFL soldiers—loyal to then…

Survivors Still Calling for Help 16 Years After War End

The Liberian civil wars officially ended 16 years ago. But victims continue to carry powerful scars.  This story first appeared on Power TV as part of a collaboration for the West Africa Justice Reporting Project. A report by Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, recommended the Liberian government pay reparations of $30m to victims and communities of the…

Liberia: Questions about a War Crimes Court? Here is an Explainer

MONROVIA – The conversation about setting up a War Crimes Court in Liberia has intensified in the last 18 months. This is partly due to a push by local and international advocates for accountability, finally, for the brutality that claimed the lives of 250,000 Liberians. They’ve seen an opportunity in the election of President George Weah,…

Wartime Murder of Musician Casts Pall on Liberian Music Scene

Liberia’s music industry will mark a poignant moment this weekend. It is 28 years since musician Tecumsay Roberts was gunned down. Witnesses say the killer was General Samuel Varnii acting under the command of Prince Johnson. This story first appeared on Power TV as part of a collaboration for the West Africa Justice Reporting Project. Liberian musicians will…

Liberia: Defying Prince Johnson, Nimbaians Call for a War Crimes Court

GANTA, Nimba County – If Nimba’s most famous son, Senator Prince Yormie Johnson, is to be believed, this is one county that will not back the growing call for a war crimes court.  This story first appeared on FrontPageAfricaOnline as part of a collaboration for the West Africa Justice Reporting Project. “My people believe I am a hero…

Former Fighters Embrace War Crimes Court

They may be the most unlikely group of people expected to support the push for a war crimes court in Liberia. More than 100,000 of them, now former combatants, laid down their weapons at the end of the civil wars in 2003. Now some of them say justice must be served. This story first appeared…

Former Fighters Embrace War Crimes Court

They may be the most unlikely group of people expected to support the push for a war crimes court in Liberia. More than 100,000 of them, now former combatants, laid down their weapons at the end of the civil wars in 2003. Now some of them say justice must be served. This story first appeared…

Liberians against Amnesty for War, New Survey on Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Shows

Monrovia – A new survey on social cohesion and reconciliation (SCORE) has found that majority of Liberians do not support amnesty for perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, the survey revealed that majority of Liberians seek apology, the truth and compensation from perpetrators as preconditions for amnesty. This story first appeared on FrontPageAfricaOnline as part…

Liberia: Witnesses Fear Testifying Before War Crimes Court without Security

SINJE, Capemount County – Alhaji Tucker was only 10 when the civil war started in Liberia, but he remembers clearly the day rebels fighting with ULIMO K brutally slaughtered his little brother and other family members here. Tucker has vowed to testify against the attackers known as “Senegalese” and “Bility” before a war crimes court…