Five American nuns are shot to death in Liberia

Liberia was 'founded' by the American Colonisation Society (ACS) in 1822 and was to serve as the home of freed slaves from the United States. Although Liberia has an indigenous population, these freed slaves, referred to as Americo-Liberians emerged as the ruling class. In 1847, Liberia became a republic and its political system was developed along American lines. Liberia managed to maintain its independence despite the existence of British and French imperialism in the West African region. Following a period of relative stability throughout the 20th century, Liberia was plunged into chaos when a military coup was staged in 1980. Master Sergeant Samuel Doe rose to power, supported by indigenous groups that felt marginalized by Americo-Liberian rule. Doe led an authoritarian regime but soon fell out of favour with many of those that had supported him. In 1989, the first civil war of Liberia broke out, with the rebel group being led by the Americo-Liberian Charles Taylor. They soon gained control of most of the country, but the conflict was intensified when Prince Johnson, former ally of Taylor, formed his own army. By 1990, neighboring African countries formed a military force to intervene in the conflict. A number of missionary groups were active in Liberia by this time and, as the battle for Monrovia raged, they were moved behind rebel lines. The United States government held Taylor and his rebel forces responsible for the safety of their missionary groups. This safety was severely compromised when five American nuns were shot by rebels claiming to be loyal to Taylor on 31 October 1992. While it was claimed that Taylor's forces attempted to use missionaries as human shields, some missionaries asserted that Taylor suspected them of working as CIA agents, and that this was the cause of the nun's deaths. The conflict in Liberia subsided in 1997 and Taylor was elected president. However, his brutal regime soon sparked more conflict and the Second Liberian Civil War broke out in 1999. Taylor went into exile, but was charged with war crimes by the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Criminal Court in The Hague.  An estimate 200,000 people were killed in both civil wars. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is currently the president and is the first female head of state on the African continent. References: Charles Taylor - preacher, warlord, president [online] Available at: bbc.co.uk [ accessed 28 october 2009] Country Profile: Liberia [online] Available at: news.bbc.co.uk [ accessed 28 october 2009] Liberia [online] Available at: en.wikipedia.org [Accessed 28 October 2009] Monday, October 31 [online] Available at: news24.com [ accessed 28 october 2009] Rebels deny responsibility. 5 American nuns killed in Liberia - Reported shot dead behind rebel lines. Sunday Star News, 1 November 1992. [online] Available at: news.google.com [Accessed 28 October 2009]