Thread by @ManjaKoi

On November 12 1985 President Doe was nearly overthrown.

Ex ally General Quiwonkpa attempted a coup to end Doe’s tyrannical rule over #Liberia 🇱🇷.

Liberian #history would’ve changed if not for soldiers from #Israel 🇮🇱 who came to aid of Doe.

These events led to civil war.

After the 1980 Coup the “People’s Redemption Council” governed Liberia.
They invited members of the former opposition, the Progressive Alliance to help govern the Country.

They would end up leaving the government when it was clear the PRC was just a bunch of corrupt thieves.

Even members of the PRC became concerned when Doe began killing dissidents, and his rivals in the council.
It was obvious to everyone Liberia was coming under the one man rule of a corrupt murdering maniac.

In 1985 General Quiwonkpa organized a Coup against the Doe Regime.

The plan was for some of Quiwonkpa and his soilders came in from #SierraLeone 🇸🇱 an take the Executive Mansion and take control of the government.
Others in on the plot would stay in other positions and come in later.

One of these reserves squads was led by Prince Jonhson.

Quiwonkpa followed the same gameplan the original mutineers used against Tolbert.
The plan was to storm the executive mansion with a few elite soldiers, capture Doe and take over the government to start a Democratic transition.
Quiwonkpa shared his plan only to a select few.

Quiwonkpa launched the Coup with 50 well trained soldiers. They engaged Does elite security(mostly Krahn soldiers).
The soldiers fighting alongside Quiwokpa mostly Mano and Gio(from Nimba).
Ethnicity in Liberian history was never seen as all that important until this day.

They Coup appeared to be successful. Quiwonkpas men Captured the executive Mansion and the state radio and declared the government overthrown.
Liberians celebrated in the streets that vast majority had grown sick of Does tyrannical rule.
But something strange happened…

There where reports of strange non African soldiers directing and fighting alongside Does men.

What the people on the ground didn’t realize at the time is that there where Israeli 🇮🇱 special forces aiding and commanding Does troops.
The battle quickly turned against Quiwonkpa.

President Doe was taken to a secure area. His soldiers and the Israelis began to secure the executive Mansion and kill Quiwonkpas men one by one.

Quiwonkpa was captured and the Coup failed. The joy in the streets of Monrovia turned into horror when they realized Doe had won.

Does men would torture Quiwonkpa to death and mutilated his body.
The President ordered reprisals one everyone he saw supporting the Coup in his eyes.
This included Quiwonkpas family, village, and tribe(the Mano) and all of Nimba. These purges where perpetrated mostly by Krahn.

I cannot stress this enough before Samuel Doe took over there was virtually 0 ethnic conflict in Liberia.

The was zero problems between Mano and Krahn people.

Doe caused ethnic issues with his cruel reprisals and collective punishment. Tribes suddenly became factionalized.

This caused many people in Nimba to flee Liberia across the border too Guinea and Ivory Coast.
These refugees would have been traumatized by Doe and his Krahn soldiers and would dream of returning home and taking revenge on the Doe regime.
These refugees would help form the NPFL.

While reading this you might ask yourself, why the hell did Israel protect Doe? This is because they where selected as trainers by Doe’s US handlers.
Tolbert refused to support Israel. Doe did not caring about any apartheid.
The Israelis helped fight for their new African ally.

End of 🧵
Quiwonkpas failed coup and Samuel Doe’s reprisals in Nimba would have catastrophic consequences for everyone. This violence would be the prelude to the first Liberian civil war starting in 1989.
In the current day Israel denies any involvement.
Thanks for reading! 👋🏿