In public, Charles Taylor presented himself as a calm and confident leader, impeccably dressed and speaking with promises of peace and rebuilding Liberia. However, this persona concealed a man intrinsically linked to some of the most horrific violence in modern African history. Under Taylor's influence, armed groups in Liberia and Sierra Leone systematically carried out killings, mutilations, forced recruitment of children, and widespread sexual violence. His reign of terror stands as one of the most brutal documented globally, with rights groups reporting that during his ascent to power and barbarous presidency, approximately 250,000 Liberians were murdered, and hundreds of thousands more were raped, maimed, and mutilated across the two Liberian civil wars.

Liberia's instability predated Taylor's rise. In 1980, Master Sergeant Samuel Doe seized control in a violent coup, establishing a regime notorious for torture, ethnic killings, and executions. His rule exacerbated mistrust among communities, plunging Liberia into a political and social collapse that created a fertile ground for Taylor’s rebellion. Doe's own fighters were significant contributors to the atrocities that followed.

Children were among the earliest victims, with Human Rights Watch documenting the recruitment of boys as young as ten in Liberia. Many were forcibly taken from their villages or apprehended at roadblocks. One boy recounted to Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) how he was dragged from hiding and compelled to hold a rifle, ordered by fighters to shoot a captive. When he hesitated, he was threatened with death, ultimately firing the weapon because he felt he had no alternative. Other children interviewed by investigators described witnessing adults being executed and being told they would suffer the same fate if they refused to join. Some of the most cruel accounts include child soldiers being forced to participate in the murder of their own parents as a brutal form of initiation, with refusal often leading to their own deaths.

Once recruited, many child soldiers were drugged. Horrific accounts detail the use of a mixture known as 'brown brown,' a blend of cocaine and gunpowder, which fighters rubbed into cuts on the children's skin. Survivors reported feeling dizzy and confused, with some recalling firing their weapons uncontrollably due to shaking hands. Commanders sometimes tied ropes around the waists of the smallest boys, pulling them forward during attacks. Children were also frequently forced to watch soldiers behead, burn alive, and torture people they knew from their communities. They were threatened with death if they screamed during these brutalities, a tactic designed to disassociate them from their communities and dehumanize them into cold-blooded killers.

In Liberia, the 'Small Boys Unit' comprised boys as young as eight who served as fighters, porters, and bodyguards, with many perishing in ambushes or reckless assaults. In Sierra Leone, UNICEF reported similar groups known as 'Small Boys Units' and 'Small Girls Units,' where children were utilized as scouts and messengers, facing severe punishment if captured. In 2012, former child soldier Prince 'Small Soldier' Kamara described his wartime experiences to the Independent, recalling, 'The scent of gunpowder, eyes stinging from smoke, your friend crying... it was terrible. I missed my mother at that moment. But then we captured some Nigerian peacekeepers, took them to our HQ. Then I felt so proud. People called me a big man.' For some children, joining the fighters was an act of vengeance for lost loved ones, while for others, left orphaned, it was simply a matter of survival.

The suffering extended beyond boys to widespread sexual violence against young girls and women. Amnesty International and the Special Court for Sierra Leone documented extensive abductions and sexual slavery. Fighters took girls, keeping them as what survivors termed 'bush wives,' subjecting them to repeated rape, beatings for resistance, and forced labor. Diana Korgbaye described her ordeal, which began as a minor: 'In war-time, there's no real love. I was raped before I knew about those things. He forced me to be his wife. He had about 30.' Another girl testified to being abducted in her early teens and repeatedly raped: 'They abducted five girls coming from church. They took us to the front line. We had to cook and carry ammunition in the bush. They treated us bad; if I didn't go [have sex] with them, they would kill me… I want to go to school. I want to go back to Nimba to my people.' Médecins Sans Frontières staff treated women with life-threatening injuries from repeated assaults, and there were numerous cases of girls forced to give birth in the bushes without medical aid, with many dying in the process. By 2004, it was estimated that between 60 and 70 percent of Liberia's civilian population had been raped or sexually abused, with women often rounded up and gang-raped in front of their helpless children and husbands.

Alongside the atrocities against minors, entire communities were annihilated. One of the most devastating massacres occurred at St Peter's Lutheran Church in Monrovia in July 1990, where over 600 civilians – predominantly women, children, and elderly people seeking shelter – were killed. This horrific act was perpetrated by soldiers loyal to President Doe, who mistakenly believed that those inside were sympathetic to the rebels fighting his regime. Fighters surrounded the building, firing through windows and doors. Survivors recounted people falling on top of one another while attempting to hide, describing bullets coming from every direction. When fighters eventually entered, they stabbed and shot anyone still alive, leaving the interior in a state of