MONROVIA: Authority of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), has denied any connection to the deployment of soldiers at the Roberts International Airport (RIA), in Margibi County, when supporters of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), assembled to welcome home former President George Manneh Weah from the United States.
“The decisive intervention of the AFL detachment commander was done without informing his appropriate superior commander, who would have notified the AFL High Command. Procedurally, this would have initiated strategic assessment and coordination with other security apparatuses and civil authorities,” Brigadier General Davidson Riforleh, Chief of Staff of AFL, said Tuesday, July 16, 2024.
The clarifications by the AFL Chief of Staff, were contained in a formal communication he sent to Information Minister, Jerolinmek Mathew Piah.
The Chief of Staff explained that the AFL Headquarters vide Reference A, forwarded an Incident Report on the occurrence at Roberts International Airport (RIA) on 13 July 2024.
According to him, the report indicated that on the said date, the RIA was swarmed by mammoth crowd of sympathizers and supporters of former President George Manneh Weah that came to welcome him.
He added that the crowd was uncontrollable and their unruly actions escalated into chaos, as they attempted to breach the airport terminal.
“Their actions significantly disrupted the flow of travelers’ arrivals and departures,” the communication pointed out.
“Accordingly, the RIA’s security coordinator requested the AFL detachment commander at the RIA to support the airport security, pending the arrival of the Liberian National Police (LNP),” the communication stressed.
Brigadier General Riforleh, however, indicated that the AFL has issued the initial investigation into the situation at the airport and has also forwarded same to the Ministry of National Defense and subsequently to the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, requested the appearances of authorities of the Ministries of Defense and Justice, Armed Forces of Liberia, Presidential Security Advisor, and Commander of the AFL to address deployment of arms officers of the AFL at the airport upon the arrival of Former Liberian President, George Manneh Weah, over the weekend. These authorities are expected to appear before House Plenary on Thursday, July 18, 2024.
The controversies ensued following mounting criticism from the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), describing the action as “unwarranted and unnecessary and had the propensity to create chaos as the Army and police were aggressively confronting unarmed and peaceful citizens” at the RIA.
But, Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah disclosed at a MICAT press briefing that the intension of former President Weah’s supporters was never peaceful.
He indicated that CDCians had earlier threatened to burn down the Airport if the Government of Liberia had denied former President George Manneh Weah’s use of the VIP lounge.
Writes: Frank P Martin
