Second Liberian Civil War

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Second Liberian Civil War
Part of the Liberian Civil Wars and spillover of the Sierra Leone Civil War
Unidentified Liberian rebel fighters, including child soldiers, during the Second Liberian Civil War
Date 21 April 1999[1] – 18 August 2003 (4 years, 3 months and 4 weeks) Location Liberia, extending into Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast Result Rebel victory Resignation of Charles Taylor and subsequent exile Transitional Government of Liberia installed Accra Peace Agreement signed United Nations Mission in Liberia deployed
Belligerents
Liberian government Loyalist Armed Forces elements ATU SOD SSS NPFL/NPP militias RUF RDFG	Rebel groups: Anti-Taylor Armed Forces elements LURD MODEL Guinea Sierra Leone Supported by:  Ivory Coast  United Kingdom  United States
Commanders and leaders
Charles Taylor Benjamin Yeaten Chucky Taylor Sam Bockarie	Gyude Bryant Sekou Conneh Thomas Nimely Lansana Conté
Strength
1,250–1,500 (2002)[2] FAL: 11,000—14,000 (2002) 12,000 (2003)[3] Militias: 16,000 (2003)[3]	(2003):[3] 35,000 LURD 14,000 MODEL
Casualties and losses
~50,000 killed[4]

The Second Liberian Civil War was a civil war in the West African nation of Liberia that lasted from 1999 to 2003.

President Charles Taylor came to power in 1997 after victory in the First Liberian Civil War which led to two years of peace. The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), an anti-Taylor rebel group backed by the government of Guinea, invaded northern Liberia in April 1999. LURD made gradual gains against Taylor in the north and began approaching the capital Monrovia by early 2002. The Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), a second anti-Taylor rebel group, invaded southern Liberia in early 2003 and quickly conquered most of the south. Taylor, reduced to controlling only a third of Liberia and under pressure from the Siege of Monrovia, resigned in August 2003 and fled to Nigeria. The Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed by the warring parties a week later, marking the political end of the conflict and beginning Liberia's transition to democracy. The National Transitional Government led by interim President Gyude Bryant governed the country until the 2005 general election.

The Second Liberian Civil War resulted in the deaths of over 50,000 people and the internal displacement of thousands more. The conflict saw the widespread use of child soldiers by both Taylor and LURD. The United Nations Mission in Liberia was deployed in the country until it was officially withdrawn in 2018.