Issues in Liberia and Sierra Leone had different conditions and root causes. Liberia was founded and declared as a state and a republic in 1847 by freed black American slaves, commonly referred to as Americo-Liberians. Most Liberians, especially the indigenous people, initially greeted Doe’s coup with euphoria and enthusiasm, but he basically practiced his predecessors’ ethnic and class politics. The crisis in Liberia largely reflected the internal factors outlined above, but one should not ignore the role of West African states in encouraging and fueling the conflict. Similar factors explain the civil war in Sierra Leone. After attaining independence from the British in 1961, it was ruled by the Margai brothers, Sir Milton Margai and Sir Albert
