Liberia: April 10, 2003

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 Because of the growing violence, foreign aid has been suspended in about 70 percent of the country. One thing the growing violence shows is that Liberia does not have an army. There are only warlords, with president Taylor being one of the more powerful ones. But with the illegal diamond trade crippled, Taylor has less money to pay his gunmen. Revenue is coming in by granting logging licenses to foreign companies, but this is not as lucrative as the diamond trade was. As a result, he has to allow his men to loot and pillage. Some of Taylors commanders are going freelance, and other Liberians with military experience (or a taste for organized violence) are becoming mercenaries in neighboring nations. There are probably less than 2,000 armed troops getting paid with any regularity, meaning that some are owned several months of wages. LURD sustains itself entirely on plunder, and looks likely to beat the government forces eventually.

 

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