Authorities of the Liberia National Police have affirmed the recall of all officers of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) after reports that a group of them allegedly gang raped a 16-year-old girl and held her hostage for several days.
The officers were deployed in Lofa County on 26 February 2010 when ethnic conflict erupted between the Mandingoes and Lormas (two largest tribes in the county) leaving several persons wounded or dead, while hundreds of others were forced into refugee camps.
The ritual killing of schoolgirl Korpu Kamara in Kornia near Zorzor by unidentified assailants sparked the chaos.
The ERU officers have remained deployed in the county since then though being accused of intimidating and harassing of business people in Voinjama and its surrounding villages.
“We have recalled all of the them for investigation. In fact, as I speak to you they have arrived here in Monrovia,” affirmed police spokesmen, George Bardue.
He added that even though investigation of the gang raping started in Voinjama, the officers were told to come along with the document on which the investigation started.
Mr. Bardue added that a standby will replace the ERU men but did not say how many. “No, I cannot tell you how many men will be there; this is security matter.”
The officers, whose exact number is unknown, are suspected of sexually abusing the girl (unnamed) in the girls’ dormitory of the Voinjama Multilateral High School building that hosted them since February 2010.
Rape remains prevalent in Liberia following 14 years of brutal civil war.