A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

The terroristic impact of the killings was magnified by mutilation and other inappropriate treatment of
the bodies. 144 One statement giver described finding the bodies of his family after they were murdered
by AFL soldiers on July 30, 1990:
My father’s body was terribly mutilated. My mother’s stomach was ripped
open. She was eight months pregnant. I was so frightened I couldn’t even
touch them. My sister had been shot right in the middle of her head. I was
in a terrible state. I couldn’t even look at them closer because I was just in
shock. I mean even to see my father was hard. I could just recognize him by
his watch which was still on his hand. 145
“The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack. Acts or
threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are
prohibited.” Art. 13 (2), Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating
to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts.
One of the most egregious examples of government atrocities was the St. Peter Lutheran Church
massacre in July 1990. AFL soldiers and Doe loyalists killed hundreds of people who had sought
refuge in the church from the war. 146 One statement giver lost seven family members in the Lutheran
Church massacre. 147 According to accounts, the soldiers were deliberate and comprehensive in the
executions. As one Liberian stated, “the soldiers were shooting to kill.” 148 A public hearings witness
described one survivor’s account of how the entire room was filled with sleeping people when heavy
shooting began. 149 The troops came upstairs to the classrooms and opened fire on people. 150 With
no time to flee, people lay flat, but the soldiers walked over them and shot them as they lay there. 151
Those who tried to escape were gunned down. 152 One statement giver explained how women in the
church tied babies to their backs, and as they fled, the
soldier shot their backs, killing them and the babies. 153
The disregard for the church as a safe haven magnified
the horror for many civilians. Another statement giver
stated, “imagine trying to seek refuge in the church, a
house of God, and they opened fire.” 154 Statement givers
who witnessed the aftermath of the incident, or knew
survivors, confirmed the massacre accounts. 155 One of
them recalled the aftermath:
[It was] a horrible sight. There was blood all over the place. People had been
killed by bullets in their heads. There was blood all over the walls and the
floors. There was a mass grave that was dug. It broke my heart to know
Liberians were killing other Liberians. 156
146
“[A]ll possible measures shall be taken…
to search for the dead, prevent their
being despoiled, and decently dispose of
them.” Art. 8, Protocol Additional to the
Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949,
and relating to the Protection of Victims
of Non-International Armed Conflicts.