June 4, 2007
Former Liberian Leader Boycotts War Crimes Trial
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who has been charged with atrocities in Sierra Leone, did not show up for the start of his trial in The Hague on Monday, saying he would not get a fair hearing in the U.N.-backed court.

April 5, 2006
Taylor Trial Could Lead Way to More African War Crimes Tribunals
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor pleaded not guilty to war crimes charges in a special Sierra Leone court April 3. Taylor became the first African leader to face international war crimes charges, opening the way for similar tribunals for other African leaders accused of committing crimes against humanity, human rights advocates say.

March 29, 2006
Taylor Captured Along Nigerian Border, Returned to Liberia to Face Charges
Charles Taylor, who disappeared from Nigeria after authorities said they would turn him over to face war crimes charges, was reportedly captured Wednesday trying to enter Cameroon. Nigerian police said he was flown to Liberia where U.N. officials were expected to take the ousted Liberian president to face war crimes charges in neighboring Sierra Leone.

March 28, 2006
Warlord Charles Taylor Vanishes from Nigeria
Charles Taylor, wanted for orchestrating the murder, rape and mutilation of more than 500,000 Africans, disappeared Monday from his compound in southern Nigeria, days after Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo agreed to transfer him to a war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone.

March 23, 2006
Johnson-Sirleaf Describes Attempts to Come to Terms with Liberia's Violent Past
Margaret Warner speaks with Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf about pressure from the United Nations, United States and European Union to extradite former Liberian President Charles Taylor from Nigeria to stand trial for war crimes in Sierra Leone.

March 15, 2006
Liberian President Addresses Joint Meeting of Congress
In a speech before the U.S. Congress and administration officials, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf asked for the continuing support of the American people, saying a peaceful, prosperous Liberia can contribute to democracy, civility, and development in West Africa and beyond.

Nov. 14, 2005
New Leader Faces Tough Road in Liberia
Gwen Ifill speaks about the election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as Liberia's president and the challenges ahead for the West African nation with Chris Fomunyoh, senior associate for Africa at the National Democratic Institute, and Mike McGovern from the International Crisis Group.

Nov. 10, 2005
Liberian Ex-Finance Minister Poised to Become First Woman President in Africa
Update: Liberia's ex-finance minister appeared to hold a commanding lead over her opponent in the war-torn nation's presidential run-off election Thursday, placing her in position to become the first woman elected president of an African nation.

Oct. 13, 2005
Runoff Likely in Liberia Presidential Election
Update: In Liberia's first post-war elections, early poll results on Thursday predicted a runoff between soccer star George Weah and former Finance Minister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

Oct. 7, 2005
Liberia Looks to Elections to Forge Stability
Update: Long beleaguered by war and corruption in an unstable region, Liberia will attempt to usher in a new, more stable era on Tuesday when its voters participate in the West African nation's first post-civil war election.

Profile: Soccer star-turned presidential candidate George Weah

May 2005
Liberia: No More War From FRONTLINE/World
Also on PBS: U.N. peacekeepers moved into Liberia in 2003 to help implement a peace deal put in place after President Charles Taylor was exiled. FRONTLINE/World reporter Jessie Deeter accompanies U.N. commander General Daniel Opande into the war-torn region as the mission faces one of its biggest challenges -- to disarm more than 100,000 former fighters and offer them an alternative to war.

October 24, 2003
Rebels Ask for New Liberian Leader to Step Down
Update: Liberia's main rebel group has asked the government's transition leader to step down, or risk threatening a peace agreement intended to end more than a dozen years of civil war.

October 14, 2003
Bryant Sworn in as Liberia's Leader
Update: Businessman Gyude Bryant was sworn in as the leader of Liberia's postwar government Tuesday, raising hopes that the nation can return to order and stability after 12 years of civil war.

August 21, 2003
New Liberian Transition Leader Chosen
Update: Even as Liberia's rebels and government named businessman Gyude Bryant to head their transition government, the United Nations envoy to war-torn West african nationa said he would ask the Security Council to authorize its largest peacekeeping deployment in the world -- 15,000 troops.

August 18, 2003
Warring Factions in Liberia Sign Peace Accord
Update: After three years of civil war, the Liberian government and the two largest rebel groups -- Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia -- signed a peace accord today that calls for a two-year power-sharing government.

August 14, 2003
U.S. Troops in Liberia; Rebels Withdraw
Update: Dozens of U.S. Marines landed at Liberia's main airport Thursday to help African peacekeepers move into rebel-held areas of Monrovia.

Ann Simmons, a reporter with the Los Angeles Times, discusses the arrival of American Marines.

August 13, 2003
Liberians Storm Port, Rebels Prepare to Leave Capital
Update: Liberians, frustrated by the lack of humanitarian aid, stormed Monrovia's port Wednesday, as rebel fighters prepared to hand it over to West African peacekeepers who will supply desperately needed aid. Correspondents reported seeing men, women and children ripping open sacks, looking for something to eat. Rebels, hoping to disperse the mob, fired shots into the air in an effort to control the chaos.

August 13, 2003
Liberia's Deposed President Begins Exile in Nigeria
Former Liberian leader Charles Taylor began his second day in exile in southeastern Nigeria on Wednesday, after handing control of his war-torn country to his vice president and in the face of United Nations war crimes charges for his role in Sierra Leone's civil war.

August 11, 2003
Liberia's Taylor Resigns, Hands Power To Vice President
Liberia's President Charles Taylor stepped down from office Monday, telling the world leaders who pushed him to resign to take the "opportunity to help the people of Liberia." Three regional experts assess the departure of Taylor and the challenges that remain.

Update: Charles Taylor Resigns

August 7, 2003
Taylor Pledges Names Successor, Nigerian Peacekeepers Enter Monrovia
Update: As Nigerian peacekeeping troops entered the capital city of Monrovia Thursday, embattled President Charles Taylor cancelled his scheduled appearance before Liberia's congress, but did submit a letter to the legislature saying he would hand power over to his vice president.

August 6, 2003
First U.S. Marines Land in Liberia
With the arrival of seven Marines to aid in the work of West African peacekeepers, historians reflect on the special relationship between Liberia and the U.S. and how it impacts American responsibilities in the war-torn nation.

Update: U.S. Marines Arrive in Liberia, Taylor Promises to Resign Thursday

August 4, 2003
Officials React to the Challenges Facing Peacekeepers
Nigerian peacekeeping troops began arriving in Liberia's war-torn capital Monday, as Liberians took to the streets to celebrate what they hope will be an end to 14 years of civil war. A leading opposition figure and the top U.N. official for Liberia discuss what must be done to bring stability to the West African nation.

Update: Nigerian Peacekeepers Arrive in Liberia

July 31, 2003
West African Peacekeepers Set For Liberian Deployment
Update: West African leaders agreed Thursday to deploy a force to war-torn Liberia by Monday and called for the country's embattled president to go into exile within three days of the peacekeepers' arrival.

July 30, 2003
Heavy Fighting Reported as West African Team Arrives in Liberia
Update: Heavy fighting continued in the Liberian capital of Monrovia Wednesday as a military assessment team from West African nations arrived to assess a possible peacekeeping mission. As the situation continued to unfold in Monrovia, President Bush reiterated the need for a West African force to be ready to move in before he commits U.S. forces to the region.

July 28, 2003
Fighting Erupts in Liberia's Second Largest City
Rebel forces seeking to oust President Charles Taylor attacked the second-largest city, Buchanan, Monday, endangering refugees who had already fled the violence in the capital, Monrovia.

July 25, 2003
U.S. Deploys Forces Off Liberia's Coast, Stresses International Role of Mission
Ray Suarez talks to New York Times correspondent Eric Schmitt about President Bush's decision to deploy U.S. forces off the country's coast to aid in an international peacekeeping mission. The president's announcement comes a day after the USS Iwo Jima moved into Mediterranean Sea for possible duty in a Liberia operation.

July 22, 2003
Rebels, Government Fighting Sparks Debate over U.S. Intervention
As gunfire and mortars exploded throughout the Liberian capital of Monrovia Tuesday, discussions continued in Washington over whether to deploy U.S. peacekeepers to the war-torn nation. Two regional experts offer their assessment of the fighting and the prospects for peace if international forces move into the region.

July 9, 2003
Should the U.S. Help End Liberian Violence?
News for Students and Teachers: An ongoing civil war in the West African nation Liberia has left one million civilians homeless and drawn countries around the world, including the United States, into a debate about how to help the nation.

July 7, 2003
Military Officials Assess Possible U.S. Deployment to Liberia
A U.S. military team arrive in the Liberian capital of Monrovia to assess a possible deployment of American peacekeepers to the war-torn West African nation. Gwen Ifill gets an update from Somini Sengupta, a reporter for The New York Times.

July 4, 2003
U.S. to Send Military Experts to West Africa, Taylor Offers to Resign
Update: Facing rebel attacks on the capital and American calls for his departure, Liberian President Charles Taylor said he would be willing to step down once international peacekeepers arrived. Within hours, the U.S. announced it would dispatch military experts to West Africa to gauge how to stabilize the region.

July 3, 2003
Dateline: Monrovia -- Sebastian Junger on the Situation within Monrovia
U.S. military forces are ready for possible deployment to Liberia, where there's a fragile truce between President Charles Taylor's troops and insurgent forces. Terence Smith discusses the situation with Vanity Fair's Sebastian Junger, who just returned from assignment in Liberia.

July 2, 2003
U.S. Weighs International Call to Send Peacekeepers to Liberia
Update: With mounting calls for the U.S. to lead a military intervention into the civil war-torn African nation of Liberia, President Bush Wednesday said he lamented the continuing violence and that his government was considering all options to bring peace to the country.

June 26, 2003
President Bush Reiterates Call for Taylor to Leave
President Bush called on embattled and indicted Liberian President Charles Taylor to step down today. Terence Smith gets an update on the recent rebel offensive in Liberia from Sebastian Junger, a reporter for Vanity Fair. Smith then follows up with a discussion on the potential for U.S. intervention.

June 25, 2003
Rebels Near Liberian Capital, Intense Fighting Continues
Update: Rebel fighters armed with rocket propelled grenades and mortars advanced into areas of Liberia's capital city of Monrovia Wednesday, effectively shattering a week-old cease-fire agreement between rebel leaders and President Charles Taylor's beleaguered government.

June 17, 2003
Liberian Factions Sign Cease-Fire, Move to Form New Government
Update: Warring factions in the West African nation of Liberia signed a cease-fire Tuesday in a bid to end some 14 years of conflict and create a transitional government without current President Charles Taylor.

June 4, 2003
U.N. War Crimes Court Indicts Liberian President
Update: A special United Nations-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone on Wednesday indicted Charles Taylor, president of neighboring Liberia, charging him with "bearing the greatest responsibility" for war crimes, crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law during Sierra Leone's brutal 10-year civil war.

May 6, 1996
U.S. Calls for an End to Civil War in Liberia
Assistant Secretary of State George Moose urges African leaders meeting in Ghana to force out Liberia's warlords and to end the civil war.

May 1, 1996
Anarchy's Children: A Report on the Child Warriors of Liberia
Drugged and armed 12 year olds rule Monrovia's streets in a civil war that has destroyed Liberia. Charlayne Hunter-Gault explores the history of relations between Liberia and the United States. She then examines the causes and possible solutions of the current strife with three African experts.