Liberia Militia Leaders Sign Peace Deal
Liberia’s warlords and civilian politicians have signed a peace deal in Ghana to end almost five years of civil war, witnesses and officials said today.
The deal, thrashed out during two days of talks in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, called for a cease-fire beginning at midnight, Dec. 28, and elections Nov. 14, 1995, the officials added.
The deal, which follows a string of abortive peace pacts by Liberia’s fractious militia leaders, includes agreement on the composition of a five-member ruling council to run the West African country until an elected government can take over in January, 1996.
An estimated 150,000 people have died in civil war and anarchy in Liberia since rebels led by former civil servant Charles Taylor invaded from Ivory Coast on Christmas Eve, 1989.
Liberia, Africa’s oldest independent republic, was established by freed American slaves in 1847.
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