A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

Doe’s body for political reasons. 244 Another statement giver described how ECOMOG forced the
Daily Observer to burn all newspapers that contained pictures relating to Doe’s death. 245
These conditions spawned what would be a series of broken accords throughout the next several years.
The period between 1990 and 1992 was described as an “uneasy truce” 246 as peace talks interspersed
with fighting took place. In November 1990, ECOWAS attempted to broker peace talks between
Taylor and Doe loyalists, and established an interim government to lead Liberia. 247 Amos Sawyer was
appointed head of the Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU). 248 Monrovia reverted to a
relative degree of calm. One statement giver described:
While Sawyer was in control, people were able to move more freely around
Monrovia. Prior to Sawyer’s control, few people could leave the greater
Monrovia area because Prince Johnson had divided it. 249
The negotiated ceasefire was fragile, however, with bouts of sporadic fighting. Within days, the
INPFL violated the peace agreement by launching an attack against the AFL. 250 Fighting between the
NPFL and other factions continued in Greater Liberia. 251 Finally, the emergence of new rebel groups
threatened the precarious situation.
“operation octopuS”: octoBer 1992
On October 15, 1992, NPFL forces launched their second effort to seize Monrovia from ECOMOG
forces. 252 On the day after bombings began, one statement giver recalled her school principal
announcing that everyone would leave school early that day. 253 She recalled thinking, “Wait a minute,
when you said that in 1990, we didn’t come back for a long time.” 254
The NPFL’s attack, named “Operation Octopus,” was illustrative of the widespread violence by
multiple factions. One statement giver recounted:
They called it Operation Octopus because it had so many arms, and there
were [soldiers/fighters] everywhere, even in the swamps. There were launches
[bombings] all the time. They would see people coming out everywhere with
blood on their faces. 255
Operation Octopus lasted approximately one month. 256 Although it was brief, a statement giver
classified it as one of the deadliest conflicts: “very short, but more crazy than the previous outbreaks.” 257
According to another statement giver, Taylor’s mission was to “engulf Monrovia and kill everyone
that moved in order to capture Monrovia.” 258 By the end of the operation, more than 200,000 people
were displaced and approximately 3,000 had been killed. 259 A statement giver summarized the chaos
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