LIBERIA: Savage Hours

With executions by the sea

"I'll aim right for the head," declared a smiling Liberian soldier. Said another: "I hope I get the first shot." A third promised a foreign journalist: "Don't worry, we'll kill every one of them." On a beach in the capital of Monrovia, the new military rulers of Liberia last week executed 13 members of the civilian government of President William Tolbert, who had been killed in a coup d'état ten days earlier. Among the witnesses at the savage ceremony was TIME Nairobi Bureau Chief Jack White, who sent the following report on the first days of...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!