By: Kruah Thompson
As part of the country’s 187th Independence Anniversary (on July 26, 2025) Independence celebration, President Joseph Boakai will make an official statement to honor ECOWAS’ Role in ending Liberia’s 14-year Civil War, which cost nearly 250,000 deaths.
ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) intervened in Liberia’s civil crisis in August 1990, during the First Liberian Civil War, through a military peacekeeping force known as ECOMOG (ECOWAS Monitoring Group).
They are the first regional body in Africa to launch a peacekeeping operation without a prior UN mandate.
The intervention continued throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s during both the first (1989–1997) and second (1999–2003) Liberian civil wars.
The civil war, started by Charles Taylor’s rebel group (NPFL) in December 1989, quickly escalated into chaos.
The central government under President Samuel Doe was collapsing, and massive human rights abuses were taking place.
During the crisis, Tens of thousands of civilians were killed, and hundreds of thousands were displaced.
The conflict was spilling into neighboring countries like Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire when ECOWAS acted to contain the violence and prevent the entire region from destabilizing.
ECOMOG was a multinational peacekeeping force composed mainly of troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, The Gambia, Mali, and Sierra Leone. It was tasked with stopping the fighting, protecting civilians, and facilitating peace talks.
Despite their intervention, ECOMOG faced heavy resistance from rebel forces, especially Charles Taylor’s NPFL, and suffered many casualties.
However, on Tuesday, July 26, Liberia will be celebrating its 187th anniversary at the Centennial Pavilion, and during the celebration, the Liberian president will officially recognize the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) intervention.
Speaking to a group of journalists over the weekend, Minister Piah narrated that “We have not forgotten that when we were killing ourselves, other countries in the ECOWAS region sent troops to intervene. So, for this year’s Independence celebration, the government will recognize ECOWAS’ intervention.”
On the other hand, he says presidents from various countries will attend the event, but for now, he does not have information about the names of those presidents. However, if they do confirm, the public will be informed.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, July 27, 2025, the government will hold a socialization day event with the President and the First Lady, after the celebration.
