ABSTRACT
The intervention by West African countries was the most extensive and most publicized external involvement in the Liberian civil war. This chapter offers the prelude to the dispatch of a regional peacekeeping force, looking at the conceptual, legal and political ramifications of the decision as well as the initial response to the deployment. It examines an evaluation of economic cost of the mission. The chapter considers the allegations of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) links with the proliferation of armed factions and charges of indiscipline and looting often levelled against the force, while it discusses the diplomatic efforts by ECOWAS to resolve the crisis. The first major political problem emanated from the fact that not all members of ECOWAS were enthusiastic about the despatch of peacekeeping force. The Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso were prominent among opposition. The Cotonou Accord made a provision for a ceasefire, with a specified process of encampment, disarmament and demobilization.
