Liberia: Information on the Bassas, their affiliations with military forces and whether there have been attacks on Bassa communities
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 September 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | LBR18238.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Liberia: Information on the Bassas, their affiliations with military forces and whether there have been attacks on Bassa communities, 1 September 1994, LBR18238.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab9c30.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to Ethnologue, the Bassa ethnic group is primarily located in southeast Liberia in Bassa, Rivercess and Montserrado counties (1992, 287). Encyclopedia of the Third World states that the Bassas constitute the second largest ethnic group in Liberia and comprise 16.3 per cent of the national population (1992, 1122). The same source notes that the Bassa are one of the three ethnic groups that are completely situated within Liberia (ibid.). According to a 2 April 1992 Reuters report, the Bassas and Krus have been neutral in the Liberian factional conflict. However, this neutrality was broken by the factional fighting in the southeast, which is a Bassa region. For details, please refer to the attachment.
The BBC in a 27 May 1994 report stated that one of the factions in the Liberian civil war, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) has accused another faction, the Liberian Peace Council (LPC), of attempting to "depopulate and hurt the entire southeast of the country (ibid.). The same source states that the LPC has "unleashed a reign of mayhem" on the Bassa, Kru and Grebo who live in this part of Liberia. This BBC report notes that the LPC acknowledges the ethnic groups as NPFL supporters.
The 21 June 1994 issue of International Intelligence Report states that a new armed group called the Bassa Defense Force (BDF) has emerged in the southeast. An ambush attributed to the BDF killed two people and wounded five on the Buchanan highway (ibid.). The emergence of the new group has also led to insecurity on the main road to Buchanan, the capital of Bassa County (ibid.). For further information concerning the goal of this Bassa armed group, please refer to the attachment.
For details on the warring factions in Liberia, their main areas of control and their harassment of rival ethnic groups, please refer to the other attachments. For similar information, please, also refer to pages 148 and 156 of Country Reports 1993, page 3 of Human Rights Watch Africa (17 May 1994) and page 22 of News from Africa Watch (21 Oct. 1991), which are currently available at your Regional Documentation Centre.
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
BBC Summary World Broadcasts. 27 May 1994. "NPFL Radio Says LPC is Trying to Depopulate Southeast of NPFL Supporters." (NEXIS)
Encyclopedia of the Third World. 1992. 4th ed. Vol. 2. Edited by George Thomas Kurian. New York: Facts on File.
Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 1992. 12th ed. Edited by Barbara F. Grimes. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc.
International Intelligence Reports [London]. 21 June 1994. "Factional Fighting Continues Around Buchanan." (NEXIS)
Reuters. 2 April 1992. BC Cycle. Stanton Peabody. "Fighting Takes New Tribal Twist in Liberia." (NEXIS)
Attachments
BBC Summary World Broadcasts. 27 May 1994. "NPFL Radio Says LPC is Trying to Depopulate Southeast of NPFL Supporters." (NEXIS)
Current History [Philadelphia]. May 1993. William O'Neil. "Liberia: An Avoidable Tragedy," pp. 213-17.
Encyclopedia of the Third World. 1992. 4th ed. Vol. 2. Edited by George Thomas Kurian. New York: Facts on File, pp. 1121-22.
Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 1992. 12th ed. Edited by Barbara F. Grimes. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc., pp. 287-88.
Human Rights Watch. December 1993. Human Rights Watch Report 1994. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. 17-20.
International Intelligence Reports [London]. 21 June 1994. "Factional Fighting Continues Around Buchanan." (NEXIS)
Reuters. 22 June 1994. BC Cycle. "Fighting Closes Main Road East of Liberian Capital." (NEXIS)
. 2 April 1992. BC Cycle. Stanton Peabody. "Fighting Takes New Tribal Twist in Liberia." (NEXIS)
US Committee for Refugees (USCR). February 1992. Uprooted Liberians: Casualties of a Brutal War. Washington, DC: USCR, pp. 2-7, 10.