Three people were killed in clashes in the northwest Liberia between supporters of the country’s two main political parties, about ten days before presidential and parliamentary elections in the African nation, as the UN and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) reported on Saturday.
The two international organizations “condemn in the strongest possible way” the conflicts that broke out the day before Friday in Lofa County between supporters of the Unity party of former vice president Joseph Boakai (2006-2018) and the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) of George Weah, a former international soccer star turned politician who is president of country since 2018.
UN and ECOWAS in their statement they condemned the “loss of three lives” and called on the leaders of the two parties to “strongly call on their followers to refrain from any provocation and any violent act”.
Holding fair and peaceful elections is a major issue in the country, which was wracked by civil strife from 1989 to 2003.
Liberia’s main political parties pledged in April to refrain from violence and use judicial institutions to resolve electoral disputes that may arise before or after elections.
CEDEAO and the UN called on the Liberian police to restore calm and “conduct swift and impartial investigations, make their findings public and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.”
The US embassy in Monrovia also condemned the violent incidents and called for prosecutions.
The two political factions blamed each other for the clashes.
Over 2.4 million voters are registered in the lists ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections, to elect 73 deputies and 15 of the 30 senators.
Source: News Beast
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