A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

Charles Taylor’s response to the splinter was particularly oppressive. One statement giver described
Taylor’s reaction as follows:
Furious with Johnson’s betrayal, Taylor’s occupation of [Monrovia] was a
“reign of terror.” He called everyone out of their homes, and made everyone
walk single file and stand in a line. All men were stripped naked so that
Taylor’s men could search for the marks that most of Johnson’s followers
bore…When Taylor and his men discovered “defectors,” they would gather
all civilians to watch while the person was forced to his knees and shot in the
back of the head…Once Taylor had taken control of Bong Mines, civilian
men were forced to report daily to “G-2 offices” to receive clearance to go
to the market or move freely in town. The clearance consisted of a pass that
was meant to show that one was not a threat. 113
The INPFL, and notably its leader, demonstrated a capacity to carry out egregious atrocities against
both targeted populations and random victims. Like its NPFL forerunner, the INPFL targeted
Krahn, Mandingo, government affiliates, and NDPL members. INPFL also attacked homes and
accosted people in public.
One statement giver recalled how Prince Johnson and his men came to his house looking for his
father, a soldier in Doe’s army:
We lived in Monrovia, Vaitown before the war started in 1990. During the
war when Prince Johnson’s INPFL took control of that area we left there
with our father and mother. Prince Johnson and boys entered the area and
[were] shown to our house by some people who knew we were Krahn and
that my father was in the army at the time. Mr. Johnson and his boys entered
our yard and started cursing and asking “Where are the Krahn dogs that are
living here?” 114
When his father came out of hiding, the rebels looted the family’s belongings, set the house on fire,
and beat the statement giver’s father for information about his friends and family before shooting him
in the head. 115 Overall, the situation was so dangerous that it was risky even to look for food because,
in the words of the statement-giver, the “INPFL would kill you if they saw you.” 116 Attempts to resist
INPFL abuses resulted in death or other violence. 117
Numerous statements describe the atrocities condoned or committed directly by Prince Johnson. 118
Statement givers reported how Prince Johnson stood by and watched his fighters commit atrocities.
For example, following the Doe assassination, a Krahn woman reported that she sought to flee
141
Chapter Seven