west africa: the tangled web of wars

The full scale rebellion in Liberia is part of a complicated web of conflicts which began more than a decade ago. Governments in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast have been struggling to hold power against rebel groups, trading accusations with neighbouring nations over who is backing who. Liberia's rebel-turned-president, Charles Taylor is accused of arming rebels in Sierra Leone's civil war, but is now under threat himself from a rebel group which he claims started operating out of Guinea.