New Grief for a Tormented Land : Liberia needs rebuilding, not more internecine fighting

Liberia’s fragile peace has shattered, loosing again one of Africa’s most frightful conflicts and forcing an exodus of Americans, primarily missionaries, educators and relief workers who were rebuilding the nation after its civil war.

Fratricidal shooting and looting were reignited when officials of the ruling council threatened to arrest a prominent militia leader, Roosevelt Johnson, who is accused of murder. He and his tribal followers have chosen to fight, although a tentative cease-fire holds out hope for a settlement.

The civil war, which lasted from 1989 to 1995, killed 150,000 and left more than 1 million homeless. The peace accord that was reached last year had allowed some relief efforts to begin.

The new fighting is a reminder of the instability that exists throughout West Africa. Neighboring Sierra Leone, which is providing a safe haven for Americans fleeing Liberia, has experienced its own politically motivated fighting. In Nigeria, the powerhouse of the region and the continent’s most populous country, a United Nations team is now investigating the government’s hanging of Ogoni activists, including journalist Ken Saro-Wiwa, in a case related to minority rights.

But its troubles notwithstanding, the Nigerian government deserves credit for sending thousands of peacekeepers to Liberia under the aegis of the Economic Community of West African States, an unusually strong regional response to an internecine war. Sadly, those and other peacekeepers may not be able to stave off more fighting and despair.