Liberia: February 15, 2005

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About a 100,000 people presented themselves to UN peacekeepers as former soldiers or rebels, and demanded the $300 disarmament payment, as well as training and tools needed for rehabilitation. This was twice as many people as the program anticipated. Naturally, the money ran out before everyone could be taken care of. The UN has been trying to raise another $60 million to keep the program going. Thousands of disarmed men have turned in their weapons, but have not received what they were promised. This has caused some unrest, and some of the men have turned to petty crime or banditry. Many of the unanticipated people seeking disarmament were frauds. It quickly became known what the minimum requirements were for disarmament benefits (what kind of weapon or how much ammo to turn in, and what kind of story to tell) and a lot of non-fighters lined up to defraud the system. The UN had no way to double check most of the frauds. 

 

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