Benjamin Yeaten

Early life and rise in ranks

Benjamin Yeaten was born on 28 or, less likely, 29 February 1969 in Tiaplay, Nimba County, Liberia,^[6] which was one of the areas in Liberia that suffered the most under Samuel Doe's regime. As result, Yeaten joined the rebel army that Charles Taylor was building in exile in Tajura, Libya. Although one of the youngest recruits in this new force (he was 18 at the time), Yeaten impressed Taylor personally through his determination, bravery and loyalty.^[13][14]

With his rebel force officially consolidated as the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), Taylor launched his insurgency against Doe's government in 1989, starting the First Liberian Civil War. Yeaten also took part in the civil war, and quickly rose through the ranks in the NPFL.^[15] Yeaten also became so close to his leader, viewing him as "father figure",^[4] that he was described as "Taylor's surrogate son in the rebel hierarchy".^[9] In course of the first civil war, Yeaten also earned his feared and brutal reputation. The men under his command committed numerous massacres,^[16] such as the one at Carter Camp in 1993, where over 600 civilians were murdered.^[17]

Peacetime 1997–99

When Taylor won the civil war and became President of Liberia in 1997, Yeaten came to hold the most important security positions in the new government.^[18][19][3] He was appointed head of the Special Security Service (SSS, also known as "ninjas"), which served as presidential guard, and the Special Operations Division.^[4][20] Under his command, the SSS quickly became infamous for its brutality and abuses,^[19][5] while Yeaten came to serve as Taylor's hitman.^[21] He carried out numerous political murders,^[22] with one of the most notorious cases occurring shortly after the Liberian general election, 1997: On 3 Dember 1997, Samuel Dokie, one of Taylor's political rivals, was detained alongside his family in Nimba County. On the following day, Yeaten and his men arrived, took them into custody, and transported them to an undisclosed location. The whole family was subsequently brutally murdered, and when their corpses were found, the bodies were so extremely mutilated that only Samuel Dokie's head was still identifiable.^[4] Although Dokie's death was a scandal with much publicity, which prompted President Taylor to deny any involvement in the killings and order an investigation, Yeaten was never prosecuted and kept his job.^[4][23] The U.S. embassy at the time simply noted that Yeaten was one of the "known human rights abusers" in Liberia.^[4] Despite his power in the government, Yeaten still faced a rival in the form of Taylor's son Charles McArther Emmanuel, better known as "Chuckie". Chuckie led the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) which was effectively in competition for resources with Yeaten's units. Though the two vied for influence and President Taylor's attention, Yeaten was generally more powerful and much more feared than Chuckie.^[7]

When President Taylor began to support the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) during the Sierra Leone Civil War, Yeaten became involved in supplying arms and ammunition to these rebels. Independently from Taylor, Yeaten developed a close friendship with RUF commander Sam Bockarie in 1998, and consequently often communicated with him without authorization.^[24]

Second Liberian Civil War

Government fighters during the Siege of Monrovia.

After the outbreak of the Second Liberian Civil War in 1999, Yeaten further rose in prominence, and he was appointed lieutenant general,^[1] becoming both the most senior general^[25] as well as deputy commander of the armed forces.^[8] By early 2000, Yeaten had also triumphed in his rivalry with Chuckie, who had proven to be completely incapable as ATU commander. As result, President Taylor made Yeaten the de facto leader of the ATU, filling its ranks with Yeaten's followers.^[26][5] In the following two years, however, the civil war turned against the president who responded by putting Yeaten effectively in charge of the whole war effort.^[27] While he was considered a capable commander, who inspired both fear as well as respect among his troops, Yeaten could not stop the collapse of Taylor's regime. A major and successful government counter-offensive in northern Liberia that recaptured Tubmanburg^[28] proved inconsequential, while the rebels were gaining strength.^[29]

Lieutenant general Yeaten's conduct of war was however noted for its ruthlessness, brutality,^[30] and numerous war crimes: He mass recruited child soldiers,^[3] raped women,^[10] ordered the massacre of civilians,^[29] tortured presumed enemies,^[31][32] and forced captured rebels to fight each other to the death.^[21] As defeat became increasingly likely, Taylor began to distrust the Sierran Leoneans among his forces (including the RUF) and fear them as political liabilities. Eventually, the president decided to have them killed - a task he entrusted to Yeaten.^[33][34] The lieutenant general thus became involved in a plot to murder the RUF leader Sam Bockarie despite his past friendship with the Sierra Leonean rebel.^[24] Yeaten lured Bockarie into the jungle of Nimba County^[33] under the guise of a "special mission". Although Bockarie already suspected that something was amiss at the time, he went along with Yeaten. In course of the trip into the jungle, their convoy repeatedly stopped, and one after another Bockarie's bodyguards were ordered to leave their cars, taken away, and executed. As the group reached the place where Bockarie himself was supposed to be executed, the rebel leader managed to escape. In the end, however, Yeaten and his men tricked Bockarie into revealing himself, whereupon they beat him to death.^[34] They then raped and killed Bockarie's wife and executed his son and mother.^[33]

In July 2003, the war finally turned decisively against the government loyalists. Yeaten's forces were overrun by LURD rebels, who proceeded to lay siege to Monrovia.^[25] The lieutenant general consequently personally commanded the government forces during the siege.^[35][36] By this time, he had become the second most powerful individual in the government, more so than Vice President Moses Blah.^[37] When Taylor travelled to Ghana in order to take part in peace talks with the rebels, it seemed possible that Taylor might be arrested by Ghanaian authorities. This came not to pass, however, mostly due to Yeaten threatening to execute Ghanaians who resided in Liberia in the case of Taylor's detention.^[20]

As it became clear to Taylor that he had lost the war and agreed to resign from office in August 2003, Yeaten still commanded the remaining government forces in Monravia. Despite the implementation of a ceasefire, Yeaten personally threatened to renew hostilities in the case that the rebels failed to withdraw from the city's port.^[38] In the end, however, the government forces laid down arms. Yeaten consequently decided to go into exile, fearing possible reprisals. Shortly before fleeing the country, he murdered his fiancée, who was only known as "Babygirl", and disposed of her body.^[21]