Fact file on Liberia
2003-10-15 09:42
Monrovia - Liberia, Africa's oldest black republic where a new interim leader was sworn in on Tuesday after 14 years of nearly constant war, was founded by freed American slaves in the 19th century.
Gyude Bryant, an entrepreneur turned politician, will head an interim government to steer the west African country to elections in 2005 under a peace pact reached in August.
Charles Taylor, a former warlord who was elected president in 1997 and now stands indicted for war crimes in neighbouring Sierra Leone, went into exile under intense international pressure in August.
Taylor sparked a brutal civil war in December 1989 that ended with his election in early 1997. The conflict claimed some 250&nsbp;000 lives and sent hundreds of thousands into exile.
A new war broke out in 1999, spearheaded by the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) rebel movement. A second insurgent group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (Model), appeared in southeastern Liberia in March.
GEOGRAPHY: Liberia covers 111,369 square and claims 570km of Atlantic coastline. Liberia is bordered by Sierra Leone to the northwest, Guinea to the north and Ivory Coast to the east.
POPULATION: 3.2 million.
CAPITAL: Monrovia
LANGUAGE: English is the official language.
RELIGION: Animist (70 percent), Muslim (20 percent), Christian (10 percent).
HISTORY: Liberia, the oldest black African republic, was founded in 1822 by freed American slaves. After independence in July 22, 1847, Liberia was led by descendants of slaves until the death of president William Tolbert, who was overthrown in a military coup led by Samuel Doe on April 12, 1980.
On December 24, 1989, Taylor, leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, launched a civil war against Doe's military regime. Doe was assassinated on September 10, 1990.
Amos Sawyer took over as interim president after Doe's death and from March 1994 a State Council and Legislative Assembly were created as the result of a peace agreement signed a year earlier.
In July 1997, Taylor was elected president with 75 percent of the vote. In January 2001, Taylor was accused by the United Nations of backing the rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone and trafficking in the "blood" diamonds illegally mined by them.
The UN imposed sanctions on Taylor -- including an arms embargo -- which were renewed in March for a year. Taylor was also indicted on June 4 for war crimes by a UN-backed court in Sierra Leone over his role in that country's 10-year civil war, marked by extremes of brutality which left thousands maimed and claimed up to 200,000 lives.
A rebel war that broke out in 1999, spearheaded by the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, ended with an August peace agreement.
ECONOMY AND RESOURCES: Wood, rubber, iron and diamonds.
The economy and industry have been devastated by war. Infrastructure is in ruins, especially water and electricity. About 80 percent of the population live in acute poverty while unemployment is estimated at 85 percent.
EXTERNAL DEBT: $1.9bn in 2001 (World Bank)
ARMED FORCES: Estimated between 11 000 and 15 000 including pro-government militias, according to the International Institute of Strategic Studies (2002-2003).
- SAPA