Liberian warlord returns to repent ‘20,000 murders’

ONE of Liberia’s most notorious rebel commanders, known as Gen Butt Naked for charging into battle wearing only boots, has returned to confess he is responsible for 20,000 deaths.

Joshua Milton Blahyi, who now lives in Ghana, returned last week to face his homeland’s truth and reconciliation commission. His nom de guerre is derived from his platoon’s practice of charging naked into battle, a technique meant to terrify the enemy.

Other former warlords, though, have refused to ask forgiveness, dismissing a commission many in Liberia see as toothless. Blahyi is urging other killers to come forward as the country struggles to recover from past horrors.