Liberia's Samuel Doe: A Tragic Fall

The sun blazed overhead in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, on Sunday, 9 September 1990. The city lay in an eerie calm. Church services had ended hours earlier, and worshippers had long since returned home. On the surface, it felt like an ordinary afternoon. Within the fortress-like Executive Mansion, President Samuel Doe weighed a momentous decision. Against all caution, he resolved to leave the safety of his residence and head to the ECOMOG headquarters at the Freeport of Monrovia. The visit had been arranged by General Arnold Quainoo, the Ghanaian commander of the ECOWAS peacekeeping mission, who had given Doe assurances of his protection. But those assurances would tragically unravel. News of Doe’s departure spread swiftly, reaching the ears of Prince Yormie Johnson, the unpredictable commander of the breakaway INPFL faction. For Johnson, this was the chance he had been waiting for. With Doe now vulnerable, it took only hours for Liberia’s president to fall into rebel hands. What followed was a brutal and harrowing ordeal that would shock the nation and leave a scar on its history forever. ********************************************************************** Sources: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p00... https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/missio.... https://penglobalinc.com/samuel-dr-do... https://bpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/wp.tows... Martin Meredith: State of Africa After Independence https://africanarguments.org/2015/09/... https://www.theafricareport.com/14456... https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/h... https://liberiapastandpresent.org/Sam... ********************************************************************** Music: Epidemic Sound YouTube Audio Library #SamuelDoe #Liberia