Taylor 's Men Massacred 48 Mandingoes in Karnplay

A Commander of Charles Taylor's defunct National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) and his fighters massacred over 48 ethnic Mandingoes in the town of Karnplay , Nimba County , a survivor told commissioners of Liberia 's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Testifying recently during public hearings in Sanniquellie, Nimba County , Amara Jabateh said the commander, Unee Kazulu entered the town with his men on New Year's Day in 1990 and began the mass killing of Mandingoes.

Jabateh said the fighters went from house to house in the town and killed scores of Mandingoes who they accused of sympathizing with the government of President Samuel Kanyon Doe. He explained that the NPFL commander and his men entered the homes of the Kromahs and the Dolleys and massacred people.

He also said they killed one Bankalle who was the Police Commander in the area. He narrated that Bankalee was taken to the intersection of Kahnplay where he was killed even after his wives had gone to appeal to the NPFL's men not to do so.

The witness stated that the NPFL fighters informed them that they were carrying out the order of the high command of the rebel forces to kill all ethnic Mandingoes and Krahns.

He also said that during the massacre, the fighters smashed the heads of babies on walls, raped women and disemboweled pregnant women.

He stated that announcements were made in Gio to have all Krahns and Mandingoes killed in the area. “I understood them because I speak and understand their dialect”, he told the hearing.

Jabateh said that after the killings, Kazulu and his men set most of the houses owned by Mandingoes in Karnplay ablaze.

The ongoing rural public hearing is being held under the theme: “Confronting Our Difficult Past, For A Better Future.”