Calm returns to Liberia after factional violence and looting – UN

Rivals within a former Liberian rebel group were responsible for last week’s flare-up in violence which was calmed after United Nations forces deployed throughout the area, a spokesman for the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) said today.

While previous reports blamed the violence on religious differences, James Boynton told the UN News Service that some members of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) wanted to hold onto their weapons while others are ready to go forward with the political process.

“The facts that have come to light since [the start of the violence] don’t point to a religious conflict at all,” he said. “We believe that the conflict arose over property issues, and from that there were others that jumped on board with their own issues to incite riots and commit arson,” he said, naming LURD members who targeted those within a splinter of the group.

Some LURD members wanted to see the disarmament process continue while others “thought it was wise to bring it to end,” he said.

The situation has remained “very calm” over the last 24 hours, the spokesman reported. Some 250 people were arrested, 208 were reported injured and 16 died during the violence.

Community meetings held in the flashpoint areas – including Jacob’s Town and Paynesville – were broadcast by UNMIL radio and aired on local television stations as part of the UN’s effort to restore calm.

Most of the deaths, according to Mr. Boyton, resulted from “blunt force trauma from clubs, sticks or rocks and [injuries from] machetes.” One individual was burned to death while two others were reported shot.

Asked whether the low proportion of injury by gunfire in a country which had been awash in weapons was a reflection of the UN’s just-concluded disarmament campaign, he replied: “We would like to think so.”

While cautioning that it would be “naïve” to think all weapons have been collected, he added, “We do term the disarmament programme to be a success.”

The UN appeal for humanitarian aid to Liberia is set to fund projects to help former fighters rejoin society. In his latest report on Liberia, Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted that the “ex-combatants constitute a highly volatile group” who need urgent education, training and job opportunities.

But the appeal faces a roughly $200 million budget gap. Mr. Boynton called this a “real concern” as the UN seeks to reintegrate demobilized soldiers back into a society already suffering from an 85 per cent unemployment rate.

In order to support the UN’s efforts to achieve sustained peace in Liberia, donor countries should “make good on their pledges” to help fund the humanitarian appeal, he said.