Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy

The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) was a rebel group in Liberia that was active from 1999 until the resignation of Charles Taylor ended the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. While the group formally dissolved after the war, the interpersonal linkages of the civil war era remain a key force in internal Liberian politics.

The group's only stated political purpose during the civil war that followed its rebellion against President Charles Taylor was to force him out of office: "Taylor must go". The group received support from Liberian diasporas in other African countries, Europe and the United States, but especially from the government of neighboring Guinea after the Taylor-supported invasion of the country in September 2000. Like the other two warring factions during the Second War, even LURD was accused of committing atrocities during the war.

According to Käihkö, LURD is best understood as a loose coalition united by an equally loose ideology, which focused on getting rid of Taylor. Initially there were different groups that shared the same goal, but acted independently in both Sierra Leone and Liberia. When the plan to wage this kind of two-front war failed due to Sierra Leonean reluctance, and especially when Guinea began to support the Liberians in the country against Taylor's aggression, these various groups moved to Guinea. Because Guinean support was channeled through the Chairman Sekou Conneh, he gained some leverage to unite the movement. While the cohesion of LURD always remained brittle, it was widely recognized that unity was necessary if Taylor was to be removed from power. Many in the LURD leadership also remembered what had happened to its predecessor, the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO), which had split in 1994. As a result, the LURD internal organization assumed power-sharing, not least between the dominant Krahn and Mandingo groups and their leaders.

Early on in the war the anti-Taylor elements launched hit-and-run attacks from Sierra Leone and Guinea, but after the Guinean support LURD established its headquarters in Voinjama, the county capital of Lofa County. Once it had gained territory in the south this headquarter was moved south to Tubmanburg in Bomi County. After years of fighting LURD laid siege to Liberia's capital, Monrovia on June 4, 2003, although it was unable to capture it. During the siege, the group was accused of firing mortar shells into civilian areas of the city, killing dozens of people.

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