April - Factional fighting resumes and spreads to Monrovia. August - West African peacekeepers initiate disarmament programme, clear land mines and reopen roads, allowing refugees to start returning. 1997 January - Disarmament programme declared a success. 1997 July - Presidential and legislative elections held. Charles Taylor wins a landslide and his National Patriotic Party wins a majority of seats in the National Assembly.
International observers declare the elections free and fair.
Border fighting 1999 January - Ghana and Nigeria accuse Liberia of supporting Revolutionary United Front rebels in Sierra Leone. Britain and the US threaten to suspend international aid to Liberia. Many factions recruited children to fight 1999 April - Rebel forces thought to have crossed from Guinea attack the town of Voinjama. Subsequent fighting leads to the displacement of more than 25,000 people. September - Guinea accuses Liberian forces of entering its territory and attacking border villages.