A group with the rebel organisation Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) called for the removal of the country’s Finance Minister, Luseni Kamara, on Thursday.
The Lurd splinter group — calling itself the executive committee — comprises the political leadership of the movement and has given a 24-hour ultimatum to Liberia’s transitional chairperson, Gyude Bryant, to replace the finance minister with Cabinet director Soko V Sackor or they would order their fighters to stop the disarmament process.
Immediately after the ”executive committee” issued the statement at a press conference, 36 generals and Lurd fighters issued a statement warning against Kamara’s removal.
”Only [Lurd chairperson] Sekou Conneh can order the removal of any nominee of Lurd. Besides, we the commanders on the field give the orders, not the politicians,” a spokesperson for group General Musa Kamara said, adding ”there will be a military showdown if the finance minister is removed”.
Conneh has meanwhile dissociated himself from an earlier letter he purportedly signed calling for the removal of Kamara as finance minister.
The issue of replacing Kamara, said to be the brother of the former wife of Conneh, had in the past driven a wedge between Conneh and his present wife, Aisha Keita Conneh.
The differences some time ago led Aisha Conneh to declare herself Lurd chairperson, which led to violent disturbances in the towns of Tubmanburg, Gbarnga and Voinjama.
Kamara’s replacement is said to have been endorsed by both Aisha and Sekou Conneh. — Sapa-DPA