2 Liberia : Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy ( LURD ) Who are LURD ?

This briefing paper is compiled from research carried out as the result of two field trips to Liberian territory under the control or influence of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, known as LURD. The first trip was completed in the period 1 June to 1 August 2002, and the second took place throughout October 2002. Additional information has been collected from visits to Guinea Conakry (henceforth Guinea) in the same period, and subsequent and prior communication with sources in the West African region. The purpose of these trips was to gather professional audio-visual material for international television broadcast. While much of the material is supported by archive videotape and recorded interviews, the nature of the conflict in Liberia and the personnel involved means that a substantial amount of this information is primarily anecdotal, derived from informal conversations and hitherto unrecorded observations. No attempt has been made to incorporate previous research and opinion about LURD in this paper, relying as it does solely on my own personal reflections and observations. B R IE F IN G P A P E R Armed Non-State Actors Project Briefing Paper No. 1