For information on the current situation in Liberia, please see the attached reports.

According to Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993, there were several cases of extrajudicial killings in 1993 (1994, 149). Although disappearances are not common, "there were reports (of varying degrees of credibility) of young men disappearing while in the custody of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), the NPFL, or the United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO) fighters, possibly victims of forced conscription or execution" (ibid.). A 28 August 1994 Reuters report states that the NPFL chief of staff, Lietenant-General Nixon Gaye, was executed by his own militia for collaboration with a former NPFL interior minister, Samuel Dokie. The minister reportedly wanted the Lieutenant-General to get his men to mutiny against Liberian rebel leader Charles Taylor.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993. 1994. United States Dapartment of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Reuters. 28 August 1994. BC Cycle. "Liberian Militia General Killed by Own Men." (NEXIS)

Amnesty International. 13 December 1993. Liberia: No Chance for a Lasting Peace Without Effective Human Rights Guarantees. (AI Index: AFR 34/01/93). London: Amnesty International, pp. 1-10.

Human Rights Watch/Africa [New York]. 17 May 1994. Vol.6, No. 3. "Liberia: Human Rights Abuses by the Liberian Peace Council and the Need for International Oversight, pp. 1-10.

Reuters. 28 August 1994. BC Cycle. "Liberian Militia General Killed by Own Men." (NEXIS)