When the peacekeeping forces were deployed last week without having first achieved a cease-fire, Togo refused to participate. President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso promised to aid Taylor with his own troops if asked. Taylor dismisses all criticism of his refusal to accept a cease-fire. We surround Monrovia. We are the government.
Doe is the rebel.
Taylor is called the President by more than just his followers and has named a cabinet of ministers. A white police motorcycle stolen from Doe leads the motorcade, while two or three cars stuffed with armed men trail Taylor's car. Bringing up the rear is an antiaircraft gun balanced on the back of a pickup truck. The war has taken a heavy toll. In Nimba County the villages were never heavily populated.