The Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) was a rebel group in
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
that became active in March 2003, launching attacks from
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
. MODEL was based on the Force Spéciale pour la Libération du Monde Africain (LIMA) militia formed in September 2002 to help
Laurent Gbagbo
Koudou Laurent Gbagbo , FPI website . ( Charles Taylor. After fighting off the imminent threat, parts of LIMA crossed the border to Liberia to continue the war there. With Taylor's forces already pressed against the larger
Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy
The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) was a rebel group in Liberia that was active from 1999 until the resignation of Charles Taylor ended the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. While the group formally dissolved after the ...
(LURD), MODEL achieved rapid territorial gains. While it was initially thought that MODEL was a splinter group of LURD, this was not the case. While the initial leadership of MODEL came from LURD, the majority of MODEL fighters were mobilized from Ivorian and Ghanaian refugee camps to which many Liberians from the country's Southeast had fled to.Ilmari Käihkö. ''The MODEL social structure of an armed group: from Liberian refugees to heroes of Côte d’Ivoire and liberators of the homeland'', Small Wars & Insurgencies March 2015 vol. 26 no. 2 248-270, page 259. , url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09592318.2015.1007561#abstract.
The relationship between the rebel groups too was strained, with politicians from both movements trying to make certain that cooperation would remain difficult.Ilmari Käihkö. ''Taylor must go' - The strategy of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy'', Small Wars & Insurgencies August 2018 vol. 29 no. 4 776-800. , url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09592318.2018.1488417 MODEL was backed by the Ivorian government as a way of staking a claim in Liberian politics during the turmoil of that country's civil war, or as retaliation for the Liberian government's alleged support for rebels in Ivory Coast. Its political leader,
Thomas Nimely
Thomas Yaya Nimely (born 1956) is a politician in Liberia. In 2003 he became the leader of the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), which soon became Liberia's second largest rebel group. Following the exile of President Charles Taylor, Nime ...
, was named as Liberia's foreign minister in the transitional government that was appointed on October 14, 2003, following the resignation and exile of Taylor. The group may have exported timber from regions of southern Liberia under its control, which would have been a violation of
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
sanctions. By 2004 MODEL in effect ceased to exist.