Conflict Erupts in Lofa County, Northern Liberia, Marking Escalation of Violence

The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) started fighting in Lofa County in northernmost Liberia. By the spring of 2001, they were posing a major threat to the Taylor government. Liberia was now engaged in a complex three-way conflict with Sierra Leone and the Republic of Guinea. Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council in March 2001 (Resolution 1343) concluded that Liberia and Charles Taylor played roles in the civil war in Sierra Leone, and therefore banned high Liberian Government members from travel to UN-states. By the beginning of 2002, Sierra Leone and Guinea were supporting the LURD, while Taylor was supporting opposition factions in both countries. By supporting Sierra Leonean rebels, Taylor also drew the hostility of the British and American governments. In 2003, other elements of the former ULIMO-factions formed another new small rebel group in the Republic of Ivory Coast, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), headed by Mr. Yayah Nimley, and they emerged in the south of Liberia.