Conflict in Liberia, Essay Example

Question One

The parties involved in the 2010 conflict in Lofa County in Liberia are Christians and Muslims.

Question Two

The interest of Mandigo Muslims is for justice to prevail in Loma. They feel that the local leaders in Loma side with Christians whenever the two groups argue, even when the Christians are wrong. The Muslims expressed that Christians want to be in control of activities in Loma, which causes the Muslims to be frustrated.

The Christians’ interest is for the peacekeeping troops from Muslim countries to be sent to their home and the United Nations to bring neutral troops from countries such as Ghana and Nigeria. Christian leaders expressed that they did not feel safe among Muslim troops.

Question Three

The primary grievance of the Muslims is that their mosques in Lofa County have constantly been attacked from the time Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took the presidential seat. Muslims were frustrated because they felt that the local authorities did not take any action to prevent these attacks even though they had complained numerous times. The Muslims felt that the local authorities were biased since they only acted when a church was burned.

The grievance of Christians was that the Muslim peacekeepers did not act when a Christian church was being burned. Instead, they rushed to protect the mosque. Christians feel that little was done to maintain peace in the region resulting in the death and injury of many people. Christians feel that the lack of legal action towards the perpetrators encouraged the Mandigo Muslims to engage in violent acts in the future because they believe that they will not face any consequences.

Question Four

The trigger of the violent clashes between Muslims and Christians in Lofa County was the death of Korpo Kamara in Konia village. Korpo was a twenty-year-old Christian student who went missing in February 2010 and was dead when her body was found.

Question Five 

The underlying cause of violence between the parties is the hate among some Christians and Muslims, which is magnified by the high rate of unemployment in the region.