First Liberian Civil War

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First Liberian Civil War
Part of the Liberian Civil Wars and spillover of the Sierra Leone Civil War
INPFL militiamen in 1990 after taking control of much of Monrovia
Date 24 December 1989 – 2 August 1997 (7 years, 7 months, 1 week and 2 days) Location Liberia Result NPFL victory Overthrow of the Doe government in 1990 Charles Taylor elected President of Liberia in 1997
Belligerents
Liberian government Loyalist Armed Forces elements ULIMO (1991–1994) ULIMO-K (1994–1996) ULIMO-J (1994–1996) LPC (1993–1996) LUDF (later becoming ULIMO) LDF (1993–1996) Supported by: ECOMOG  Nigeria (from 1990)  Ghana (from 1990)  Guinea (from 1990)  The Gambia (from 1990)  Sierra Leone (1990–1991) UNOMIL (September 22, 1993 – September 12, 1997)	Anti-Doe Armed Forces elements NPFL INPFL (1989–1992) NPFL-CRC (1994–1996) Supported by:  Libya  Burkina Faso RUF
Commanders and leaders
Samuel Doe  (President) Hezekiah Bowen (Commander-in-chief of the AFL) ULIMO: Alhaji Kromah (ULIMO-K since 1994) Roosevelt Johnson (ULIMO-J since 1994) Raleigh Seekie † General Butt Naked (ULIMO-J since 1994) Jungle Jabbah (ULIMO-K since 1994) LPC: George Boley LUDF: Albert Karpeh † FDL: Francois Massaquoi Foreign support: Sani Abacha	Charles Taylor Prince Johnson Benjamin Yeaten Sam Dokie † Tom Woewiyu Foday Sankoh Muammar Gaddafi Blaise Campaore
Strength
450,000	350,000
Casualties and losses
Total killed: ~200,000 including civilians[1]

The First Liberian Civil War was the first of two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia which lasted between 1989 and 1997. President Samuel Doe's regime of totalitarianism and widespread corruption led to calls for withdrawal of the support of the United States, by the late 1980s.^[2] The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led by Charles Taylor invaded Liberia from the Ivory Coast to overthrow Doe in December 1989 and gained control over most of the country within a year. Doe was captured and executed by the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), a splinter faction of the NPFL led by Prince Johnson, in September 1990. The NPFL and INPFL fought each other for control of the capital city, Monrovia and against the Armed Forces of Liberia and pro-Doe United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy. Peace negotiations and foreign involvement led to a ceasefire in 1995 but fighting continued until a peace agreement between the main factions occurred in August 1996. Taylor was elected President of Liberia following the 1997 Liberian general election and entered office in August of the same year. ^[3]

The First Liberian Civil War killed around 200,000 people and eventually led to the involvement of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations. The peace lasted for two years until the Second Liberian Civil War broke out when anti-Taylor forces invaded Liberia from Guinea in April 1999.