Taylor's terror tactics

2008-03-12 20:18

Arthur Max

Amsterdam - During West Africa's civil wars, Charles Taylor encouraged his fighters to "play with human blood" to create fear among his enemies, a former militia commander testified on Wednesday at Taylor's war crimes trial.

The witness described militia checkpoints meant to terrify the population by mounting human heads on sticks and using human intestines as rope to barricade roads.

Prosecutors described Joseph Marzah, who used the name "Zigzag," as one of their key witnesses, testifying with inside knowledge of the former Liberian president's operations in Liberia and neighbouring Sierra Leone, where he is accused of responsibility for the widespread murder, rape and amputations committed by soldiers loyal to him.

'Tied together intestines'

Early in the Sierra Leone civil war, he said, troops would drive in vehicles with human heads on the bumpers to incite fear among the enemy.

After setting up roadblocks, "we used human intestines.

"We put heads on sticks for people to be afraid.

"When the person is executed, the stomach is split and you use the intestine as a rope." Sometimes the soldiers tied two together to stretch as much as 10m across the road, he told the court.

Marzah said he saw Taylor pass through such checkpoints at least eight times.

Play with human blood

"He made us understand that you have to play with human blood so enemy forces would be afraid of you," he said.

At times Marzah became frustrated and angry when questioned too closely about the timing of events, saying he had been with Taylor "from beginning to end," and had done too much to recall the dates of each event.

After one march into Bong County in Liberia, "Taylor ordered me to kill civilians, saying anyone there must be collaborating with the enemy. "We executed everybody...babies, women, old men.

"There were many executions. I can't remember them all."

- AP