Calm restored in Northern Liberia

  1. Posted on Tuesday 2 March 2010 - 10:45
    peterkulah
    Peter Kulah, AfricaNews reporter in Monrovia, Liberia
    Calm has been restored in the northwestern provincial capital of Voinjama in Liberia after violent clashes between rival Mandingo and Lorma tribes that left at least five people dead, dozens injured and thousands of dollars worth of property damaged.
    liberia map
    The unrest which began last Friday in a nearby town, was sparked by the murder of a 23 year old woman of the Lorma tribe whose mutilated body was later found in a Madingo Community. She had earlier gone missing for days.

    This led to reprisal attacks from both sides in a conflict that soon began taking religious dimension, with Lormas attacking Muslim facilities and Madingoes burning down churches and Christian related institutions.

    Dr. Aaron Kollie who oversees the leading government medical center in the town told this reporter via mobile phone that two of the corpses had fatal bullet wounds.

    The violence was quelled after forces from the Emergency Response Unit of the Liberia National Police backed by United Nations peacekeepers moved in and imposed a dusk to dawn curfew.

    The authorities have ordered a full scale investigation into the rioting.

    Meanwhile, citizens of Lofa County have petitioned the high command of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to replace the Jordanian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi contingents of the peacekeeping force stationed there.

    In a position statement drawn from a mass meeting, they accused them of taking side during the conflict by protecting only Islamic installations and leaving churches and church oriented institutions vulnerable.

    UNMIL is yet to respond to this.

    Lofa County is home to six of Liberia's 16 tribes and became heavily divided during the civil war with rival tribes aligning with rival warring factions.

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