A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

were Kru, Sarpo, Lorma, or Bassa during the first and second civil wars. 62 The reasons why these
groups may have been targeted are less well-documented. One statement giver said rebels targeted
Lorma tribe members because the Vice President was Lorma, 63 and others stated rebels targeted Sarpo
because of the close connection between Sarpo and Krahn. 64 At times, however, ethnic loyalties were
unclear, blurring the motivation behind persecution. For example, while one member of the Kru tribe
said the Kru were targeted by the Doe government, another member said they were targeted by rebels
for past ties with the Doe government.
Statement givers described perpetrators selecting civilians for torture based on very tenuous evidence
of the victims’ affiliation with a targeted group, evidence that statements revealed was often incorrect.
As a result, virtually no one was safe because the risk of being mistaken as the enemy of any combatant
was so high. Indeed, statements suggest that some combatants simply attributed group affiliation to
their victims as an excuse to engage in random killing. As one statement giver noted “the rebels would
kill people for working for the government even if the victims didn’t really work for the government…
Just killing because they want to kill, that’s how I feel.” 65
Body markings often played a significant role in the identification of government soldiers. Statement
givers reported that rebels targeted civilians at checkpoints because they had marks on their legs
that appeared to be boot marks, sufficient evidence that the victim was a soldier. 66 Rebels similarly
claimed they could tell a person was a soldier from the “residual smell” of a soldier’s uniform. 67 One
statement giver stated that rebels assumed he was a soldier because he had a gunshot wound. 68 Even
the appearance of being healthy or wealthy could cause rebels to pull a person out of a checkpoint line
and kill him on the assumption he must be a soldier or government loyalist.
“All persons who do not take a direct
part or who have ceased to take part in
hostilities, whether or not their liberty has
been restricted, are entitled to respect
for their person, honour and convictions
and religious practices. They shall in all
circumstances be treated humanely,
without any adverse distinction.” Art.
4(1), Protocol Additional to the Geneva
Conventions of 12 August 1949, and
relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-
International Armed Conflicts.
Body marks consistent with membership in secret
societies might mean the difference between torture
or freedom at checkpoints. 69 One statement giver
said she was targeted as Mandingo because she had
a mark on her forehead. 70 The rebels claimed the
mark proved she was Muslim because it resulted from
praying prostrate. 71 A Lorma woman who was accused
of being Mandingo said she proved she was Lorma by
showing her captors a mark on her back that she had
received during a Lorma secret society rite. 72 She said
one of the rebels accused her of being Muslim anyway,
as a justification for taking her as a bush wife. 73
The NPFL used a variety of means to locate and identify target groups. Checkpoints, home invasions,
village raids, and even organized searches of the bush enabled combatants to seek out and persecute
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