A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

andomly at patients. I saw the body of my former doctor and my former
reverend lying on the ground. 387
aBuJa i: auguSt 1995 and the april 6, 1996 war
On August 19, 1995, warring parties reached the thirteenth peace agreement, Abuja I. 388 The
agreement provided for a new Council of State, disarmament, and elections. 389 On September 1,
1995, a collective transitional government known as the Liberian National Transitional Government
II (LNTG II), headed by Taylor, Alhaji Kromah, George Boley, and three civilian representatives,
came into power. 390 By bringing factional opponents into the political realm, the Abuja agreement
ushered in political strategy as another means to gain control of the country. 391 Notably, ULIMO-J
was excluded from direct participation in the Abuja peace negotiations. 392 Although the agreement
included a provision granting ULIMO-J’s Roosevelt Johnson a head position at the Ministry of Rural
Development, 393 the exclusion of his faction from negotiations and the implicit failure to recognize
ULIMO-J as a major force within the conflict likely served to alienate Johnson and ULIMO-J from
the final terms of the Abuja accord. The outcome proved detrimental to both Roosevelt Johnson and
Kromah, as ULIMO-J’s alienation and the new political framework stratagem converged against
both leaders’ limited political backgrounds and mass appeal. 394 As a result, it essentially preserved the
potential for future conflict.
Under the terms of Abuja I, a ceasefire commenced on August 26, 1995. 395 Once again, the brokered
peace remained tenuous. In December 1995, ULIMO-J forces violated the ceasefire agreement,
attacking ECOMOG forces in Gbarma and Tubmanburg 396 and repeatedly using civilians as human
shields. 397 During the fighting, ULIMO-J forces killed 16 Nigerian ECOMOG peacekeepers, wounded
78 others, and seized the peacekeepers’ arms. 398
At this time, Taylor was setting the stage for a third battle in Monrovia by contriving a rift between
ULIMO-J and ECOMOG. 399 Using a murder reportedly committed by Roosevelt Johnson’s forces,
Taylor urged the government to respond. 400 The Council of State attempted to arrest Roosevelt
Johnson, compelling him to seek refuge in AFL military barracks. 401 Roosevelt Johnson insisted that
the police represented henchmen of Charles Taylor’s NPFL and would not afford him just treatment. 402
The confrontation launched the third battle for Monrovia on April 6, 1996. 403 ULIMO-J, LPC, and
AFL forces fought against NPFL and ULIMO-K. 404 Within the first few days, an estimated 2,000
people were killed, 405 with total fatalities rising to 3,000 people. 406 One statement giver recalled that
the death toll was so high that human bones began to pile up in the streets. 407 Another statement giver
witnessed combatants throwing bodies into the river. 408
Statements attribute responsibility to all sides for human rights violations during the third battle
for Monrovia. Liberians described seeing both rebel and military forces burning homes, attacking
165
Chapter Seven