John Tarnue

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Brigadier John S. Tarnue is a former Liberian military officer. Tarnue was the Commanding General of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) from 1999-2003 (Second Liberian Civil War). Tarnue lost his position in 2003 when Charles Taylor resigned from power. [1]

Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In other countries, it is a non-commissioned rank.

Liberia republic in West Africa

Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south-southwest. It covers an area of 111,369 square kilometers (43,000 sq mi) and has a population of around 4,700,000 people. English is the official language and over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, representing the numerous ethnic groups who make up more than 95% of the population. The country's capital and largest city is Monrovia.

Armed Forces of Liberia Combined military forces of Liberia

The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) are the armed forces of the Republic of Liberia. Tracing its origins to a militia that was formed by the first black colonists in what is now Liberia, it was founded as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908, and retitled in 1956. For almost all of its history, the AFL has received considerable materiel and training assistance from the United States. For most of the 1941–89 period, training was largely provided by U.S. advisers, though this assistance has not prevented the same generally low levels of effectiveness common to most of the armed forces in the developing world.

Contents

Travel ban by the United Nations

Tarnue's name was among 130 Liberian officials banned from travel in June 2001 by the United Nations Security Council during the Second Liberian Civil War. [2]

United Nations Security Council one of the six principal organs of the UN, charged with the maintenance of international peace and security

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), charged with ensuring international peace and security, accepting new members to the United Nations and approving any changes to its charter. Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations and international sanctions as well as the authorization of military actions through resolutions – it is the only body of the United Nations with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states. The council held its first session on 17 January 1946.

Second Liberian Civil War 1999-2003 civil war in Liberia

The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighbouring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), emerged in northern Liberia. In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, emerged in the south, and by June–July 2003, Charles Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country.

Honoring

Tarnue was among several former AFL officers honored on 25 July 2006 by the government of Liberia for honorable service. [3]

Land invasion allegation

Reverend Tijli Tarty Tyee alleged during testimony in front of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia that Tarnue and the soldiers under his command invaded Tyee's land in 1999 while also severely beating Rev. Tyee. Tarnue's family alleged control of the land, citing a sale by Gabriel Duncan. [4]

Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Liberia) Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission to report on gross human rights violations that occurred in Liberia between January 1979 and 14 October 2003

The Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is a Parliament-enacted organization created in May 2005 under the Transitional Government. The Commission worked throughout the first mandate of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf after her election as President of Liberia in November 2005. The Liberian TRC came to a conclusion in 2010, filing a final report and recommending relevant actions by national authorities to ensure responsibility and reparations.

Special Court for Sierra Leone

Tarnue testified against the Revolutionary United Front in front of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Tarnue was portrayed as the "right-hand man" of former President Taylor. After testifying, Tarnue was relocated with his family to an undisclosed country. [5]

Revolutionary United Front political party

Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was a rebel army that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later developed into a political party, which still exists today. The three most senior surviving leaders, Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon and Augustine Gbao, were convicted in February 2009 of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Special Court for Sierra Leone

The Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the "Special Court" (SCSL), also called the Sierra Leone Tribunal, was a judicial body set up by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to "prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law" committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996 and during the Sierra Leone Civil War. The court's working language was English. The court listed offices in Freetown, The Hague, and New York City.

See also

Adjutant Lahai Gbabye Lansanah is a Liberian politician and former military officer. Lansanah is a member of the National Democratic Party of Liberia. Lansanah was elected to the Senate of Liberia in the 2005 general election as Senior Senator from the Bomi County. He is one of two senators from the NDPL and was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense. 2008–2009 Lansanah served as Acting President Pro Tempore of the Senate of Liberia. By 2009, Senator John Ballout of Maryland became Chairman of the Defense Committee.

Adjutant military rank

Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in army unit. The term adjudant is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commissioned officer rank similar to a staff sergeant or warrant officer but is not equivalent to the role or appointment of an adjutant.

Bomi County County in Tubmanburg, Liberia

Bomi is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia established in 1984. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has four districts. Tubmanburg serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 1,942 square kilometres (750 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 82,036, making it the twelfth most populous county in Liberia. Bomi is bordered by Grand Cape Mount County to the west, Gbarpolu County to the north, Montserrado County to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south.

Related Research Articles

History of Liberia aspect of history

Liberia is a country in West Africa which was founded, established, colonized, and controlled by citizens of the United States and ex-Caribbean slaves as a colony for former African American slaves and their free black descendants. It is one of only two sovereign countries in the world that were started by citizens and ex-Caribbean slaves of a political power as a colony for former slaves of the same political power, the other being Sierra Leone, established by Great Britain. Settlement of former slaves was organised by the American Colonization Society (ACS). The mortality rate of these settlers was the highest in accurately recorded human history. Of the 4,571 emigrants who arrived in Liberia from 1820 to 1843, only 1,819 survived until 1843.

Nigerian Armed Forces combined military forces of Nigeria

The Nigerian Armed Forces are the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Its origins lie in the elements of the Royal West African Frontier Force that became Nigerian when independence was granted in 1960. In 1956 the Nigeria Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF) was renamed the Nigerian Military Forces, RWAFF, and in April 1958 the colonial government of Nigeria took over from the British War Office control of the Nigerian Military Forces.

Charles Taylor (Liberian politician) Liberian former politician who was the 22nd President of Liberia

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Johnny Paul Koroma Sierra Leonean warlord

Major Johnny Paul Koroma was the head of state of Sierra Leone from May 1997 to February 1998.

The First Liberian Civil War was an internal conflict in Liberia from 1989 until 1997. The conflict killed about 250,000 people and eventually led to the involvement of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and of the United Nations. The peace did not last long, and in 1999 the Second Liberian Civil War broke out.

Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group

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). ECOMOG was a formal arrangement for separate armies to work together. It was largely supported by personnel and resources of the Nigerian Armed Forces, with sub-battalion strength units contributed by other ECOWAS members — Ghana, Guinea, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and others.

Sierra Leone Civil War civil war between Commonwealth-backed government and rebel factions

The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002) began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government. The resulting civil war lasted 11 years, enveloped the country, and left over 50,000 dead.

The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) was a rebel group that initiated and participated in the First Liberian Civil War from 1989 to 1996.

United Nations Mission in Liberia organization

The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was a peacekeeping force established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War. The peacekeeping mission formally withdrew on 30 March 2018. At its peak it consisted of up to 15,000 United Nations military personnel and 1,115 police officers, along with a civilian component. It superseded the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL). As of July 2016, 1,240 U.N. military and 606 police personnel remained on the ground, but were there only in case of emergency.

A new civil war began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighboring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), emerged in northern Liberia. By the spring of 2001, they were posing a major threat to the Taylor government. Liberia was now engaged in a complex three-way conflict with Sierra Leone and the Guinea Republic. By the beginning of 2002, both of these countries were supporting the latest addition to the lexicon of Liberian guerrilla outfits – Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), while Taylor was supporting various opposition factions in both countries. By supporting Sierra Leonean rebels, Taylor also drew the enmity of the British and Americans.

The Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), also known as the Anti-Terrorist Brigade, was a paramilitary force of the government of Liberia, established by then-President Charles Taylor in 1997-98. Chuckie Taylor, Charles Taylor's son, served as commander of the force for a period. The ATU was initially organized ostensibly to protect government buildings, the executive mansion, the international airport, and to provide security for some foreign embassies. It was a special forces group consisting predominantly of foreign nationals from Burkina Faso and The Gambia, as well as former Revolutionary United Front (RUF) combatants from Sierra Leone.

Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu, also known as Tom Woewiyu or Thomas Smith, is a Liberian native, born 1946, and was the former leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), with Charles Taylor. Woewiyu served as Defense Minister and Spokesman for the NPFL a rebel faction deemed responsible for over 60,000 violations, consisting of war crimes such as rape, slavery, conscription of child soldiers, and massacres, during Liberia's First Civil War. Woewiyu has held legal permanent resident status in the United States since 1972. There, he founded the Association for Constitutional Democracy in Liberia (ACDL) among the Liberian expatriate community in the U.S., an organization that advocated against the regime of the Samuel Doe, then President of Liberia. Woewiyu is also known for, at times, speaking out publicly against two former Liberian presidents Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Charles Taylor.

Benoni Urey Liberian politician

Benoni W. Urey is an Americo-Liberian businessman and politician, who was formerly the Liberian Commissioner of Maritime Affairs. In 2014 The Economist reported that Urey was Liberia's wealthiest man.

Mohammed Jabbateh, nom de guerre "Jungle Jabbah" is a Liberian native who stood trial in a US court beginning on October 2, 2017 for lying to United States (US) authorities about his role in the First Liberian Civil War (1989-1997) when he sought asylum in the late 1990s. On October 18, 2017, Jabbateh was charged in a Philadelphia federal courthouse with two counts of fraud in immigration documents and two counts of perjury stemming from statements he made to US authorities when filing for asylum and permanent residence. He is the first person convicted of crimes stemming from his war-related activities during the First Liberian Civil War.

References

  1. ↑ World: Africa: Liberia names new army chief BBC News, 19 November 1999
  2. ↑ UN Slams Door On 130 Liberian Officials The Perspective, 7 June 2001
  3. ↑ Gov't to honor several retired AFL generals as part of July 26 activities EmbassyofLiberia.org, 19 July 2006
  4. ↑ UN, Lutheran Massacres Victim Testifies Archived 2009-04-29 at the Wayback Machine . TRCofLIberia.org, 28 January 2008
  5. ↑ Witnesses ‘bribed’ in war crimes trials The National, 3 June 2008


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