Religion and Violent Conflicts in the West

Abstract

West Africa has had its share of violent conflicts. The most destructive and tragic wars were the ones fought in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The two countries had become like twins as the victims of the war that engulfed them. Both were dragged into war one after the other. The war that started in Liberia did not leave Sierra Leone alone. Rather it became an extension of the war. As a result, neither of them was able to extricate itself from the destructive consequences of the conflict alone. The problem was that, as geographical neighbors, and through the leaders of their respective rebellions, their fates were tied together. The leaders of the two rebellions also saw to it that they helped one another in their quest for power (Meredith 2005: 545–573). The human and material resources of one were used to bolster the insurgency of the other. For example, Charles Taylor of Liberia was heavily involved in the mayhem that had gripped Sierra Leone. Taylor also coordinated his activities with those of Foday Sankoh who led a vicious rebel group, Revolutionary United Front (RUF), in Sierra Leone. As the two countries were tied in war, their escape from war also depended on each other. They also dragged other neighboring countries such as Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and Libya in to the war.