The role of ecowas in managing political crisis and. The first civil war unleashed a torrent of egregious violations of international. Pdf united nations observer mission and ecomog intervention. Ecomog operations in liberia august 1990july 1997 and. Nigeria, ecomog, and regional security in west africa find, read and cite all the research you need on. The west african peacekeeping mission known by the acronym ecomog was first deployed in liberia in 1990 to halt factional fighting in the capital, monrovia. Amidst the devastating effect of the violent conflict in liberia, the ecowas peace plan for liberia was.
Nonetheless, on 25 august 1990, 3000 troops from ecomog landed in monrovia in what was to become a protracted conflict involving many warring factions. Doc ecomog operatrion in liberia rilwan saliu ibiefo. To do so, we conducted a survey in monrovia, liberia in the summer of 2012. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Chapter seven liberias first civil war 19891997 the advocates. He sees the repetition of earlier mistakes but also evidence of a learning curve that could bode well for greater stability in the region if additional international resources could be mobilized to strengthen. Over the objections of some member states, ecowas created and deployed a military force to liberia. The mortality rate of these settlers was the highest in. Containing conflict in the economic community of west. Liberia is a country in west africa which was founded by free people of color from the united states. At the port, doe was captured and taken to the inpfls caldwell base. The economic community of west african states ecowas led the peace talks and has continued to play a significant role in the country. Military intervention in intrastate conflicts in west.
Indeed, liberia presented enormous social, economic, political, diplomatic. Although the first ecomog force commander was a ghanaian, as solinas and lund concede, nigerian dominance was obvious from the outset. This paper attempts to explore the ecomog peace support operation in liberia following the breakdown of law and order in 1989. Book on ecomog in liberia released liberian observer. The role of economic community for west african states. The liberian conflict and the ecowasun partnership. The nature of the conflict in the two areas of ecomog s operations, liberia and sierra leone, was different.
It was largely supported by personnel and resources of the nigerian armed forces, with subbattalion strength units contributed by other. Pdf the liberian civil war which began in 1989 exhibited all the. Peacekeeping, compliance with international norms, and. The emigration of free people of color, and later former slaves, was funded and organized by the american colonization society acs. Liberia mali niger nigeria senegal sierra leon togo. In addition the spectre of transnational crimes such as narcotics trade, maritime insecurity, and global terrorism were beginning to fester in. Ecomog shall remain in liberia, if necessary, until the successful holding of general elections and the installation of an elected government. United nations observer mission and ecomog intervention in liberia s peace process article pdf available december 2018 with 606 reads how we measure reads. Africa watch has received reliable and credible reports that the remnants of the liberian army are fighting alongside ecomog. Monitoring group ecomog in both liberia and sierra leone. In may 1990, charles taylor rejected the holding of free and fair elections offered. Following this, liberia had a truth and reconciliation commission trc, but never held anyone accountable for atrocities committed during the war. In 1990, the economic community ceasefire monitoring group entered liberia as a peacekeeping force, temporarily stopping the bloodshed and ethnic killing.
The economic community of west african states ecowas was created by the treaty of lagos in lagos, nigeria, on may, 28, 1975. At the time, ecomog was barely established in the free port of monrovia. Economic community of west african states monitoring group. However, this became impossible as ecomog chose to use sierra leone as its base to intervene in the liberia s civil war. Prior to discussing the role of nigeria in ecomog, it is important that we have a clear picture of the history of the group. A case study ecomog intervention in liberia abstract. This article is aimed at revealing the role of nigeria in ecomog. Nigerian troops dominated the force it was set up under the auspices of the economic community of west african states ecowas who were concerned at the threat of instability in the. Ghanian ecomog troops embarking a united states air force ce hercules 1997 a nigerian ecomog soldier outside monrovia, liberia 1997 mali army troops guarding mig21s 1997. Much has been written on nigeria and ecomog operations in liberia and sierra leone. Economic community of west african states monitoring group as a case study, by major william agyapong, 90 pages. The executive secretary shall establish rules and regulations for ecomog after consultation with the chairman of. Economic community of west african states military observer group ecomog, restored peace and stability to liberia. Ecomog is listed in the worlds largest and most authoritative dictionary database of abbreviations and acronyms the free dictionary.
It was the liberian conflict that led to the establishment of ecomog as the first peacekeeping and peace enforcement mission set up a regional economic body in the world galadima, 2006. Nigeria has played a very vital role in the west african sub region as an active member. Ecomog ranked as the most massive assemblage of foreign military hardware and troops in the west africa cooperation, to the war ravaged liberia vogt 1992. Group ecomog and the ecowas mission in liberia ecomil. Creation of a 30 kilometre free zone around monrovia, the.
Ecowas sent ecomog to liberia with the mandate to separate the warring factions and to stop the bloodshed in the country in august 1990. The circumstances that led to does visit to the free port are still unclear. Ecomog was a formal arrangement for separate armies to work together. The role of nigeria in ecomog formation and sustainability.
It was largely supported by personnel and resources of the nigerian armed forces, with subbattalion strength units contributed. This did not go down well with charles taylor, who was jailed briefly in sierra leone while trying to force his will on the sierra leonean government headed by momoh. The internationalization of the liberian conflict is owed mainly to two factors. The united nations and other regional and subregional organizations have adopted these measures in their efforts to secure peace in the major. The bloody civil war in liberia prompted the economic community of west african states ecowas to set up an armed monitoring group ecomog for short in 1990. Its backbone was nigerian armed forces and financial resources, with subbattalion strength. The economic community of west african states monitoring group ecomog was a west african multilateral armed force established by the economic community of west african states ecowas. The first is the beleaguered attempt by liberia s neighbours, acting under the aegis of the economic community of west african states ecowas, to prevent the regional spread of the conflict through direct political and military intervention. This article examines the ecomog intervention in liberia in terms of its. Peacekeeping operations have assumed a centre stage in the operation of international organization as a veritable instrument for maintaining international peace and security.
As i perused the manuscript of this book the ecomog experience i appreciated even more, in retrospect, the tortuous path that ecowas treaded in its determination to deal effectively with the liberian civil war through its novel concept of regional intervention. Economic community of west african states ecowas, african organization established by the treaty of lagos in may 1975 to promote economic trade, cooperation, and selfreliance. Looking for online definition of ecomog or what ecomog stands for. Nigeria and some other members of ecowas a 16nation group formed in 1975 were concerned about the wars threat to regional stability. Liberia endured a violent, sevenyear civil war as a result of a 1989 attempt by rebels to overthrow the government. Ecomog shall remain in liberia, if necessary, until the successful holding of general elections and the. It had its roots in earlier attempts at a west african economic community in the 1960s and was spearheaded by yakuba gowon of. In the second book, he traces how ecomog fared in two further peacemaking efforts following its mixed record of success in liberia. Ecomog in liberia, journal of military and strategic studies, fall 2003, pp.
Pdf a comparative analysis of ecowas interventions in. The organization seeks to harmonize agricultural policies and to facilitate the free movement of peoples, services, and. Monrovia, where officials urged him to accept exile outside of liberia. Ecowas and the subregional peacekeeping in liberia the. Ecomog was deployed in liberia in 1990 with a mandate to stand as a buffer in a civil.
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