Liberia’s two rebel movements have jolted the country’s fragile peace process by demanding the resignation of the head of the transitional government, Gyude Bryant.
A joint statement signed by Sekou Damate Conneh, leader of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd), and Thomas Nimely-Yaya, chairperson of the smaller Movement for Democracy in Liberia (Model), said their fighters would not disarm until Bryant quit. Accusing him of bias and incompetence, the rebels hinted that they were willing to derail the three-month-old government which is supposed to guide the West African nation towards elections next year, ending more than a decade of war.
”The Lurd and Model are vehemently and unconditionally calling for the immediate, uncompromising and peaceful removal and subsequent replacement of Gyude Bryant … the commencement of disarmament,” the statement said.
However, in a sign that the rebel groups may be fracturing, senior members of Model denied that the group endorsed the statement.
Bryant, a businessman and consensus figure unexpectedly chosen to lead Liberia after Charles Taylor went into exile, has argued with rebels and Taylor loyalists over government jobs.
The latest call for his resignation is thought to be an attempt to delay or sabotage a stalled effort by the United Nations to disarm about 40 000 former combatants. — Â