Monrovia
President Charles Taylor said this week that he’s changed his mind about stepping down—backpedaling on a pledge that was seen as a key step toward bringing his country’s bloody civil war to an end. At peace negotiations in Ghana last week, Taylor had agreed to leave office, drawing cheers from fellow African leaders who blame him for carrying the war into neighboring Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. Now he claims that “the vast majority” of Liberians are “protesting that I can’t step aside without their approval.” Founded in the 19th century by freed American slaves, Liberia has been wracked by civil war for the past decade. Taylor, a prominent warlord, was elected president in 1997 by voters who feared he would continue the conflict unless they put him in power.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorshipTalking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Africa could become the next frontier for space programsThe Explainer China and the US are both working on space applications for Africa
