LIBERIA: Coup at Dawn

A master sergeant seizes power

In its 133-year existence, the Republic of Liberia had never experienced a coup d'état, a remarkable record given the turbulent politics of West Africa. Last weekend a group of noncommissioned officers and Liberian National Guardsmen conducted a bold dawn raid on the palatial executive mansion in the capital city of Monrovia. Their target: William R. Tolbert Jr., 66, Liberia's President and the current chairman of the Organization of African Unity. According to one account, Tolbert was shot in the face and killed. His wife Victoria and members of...

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