Benjamin Yeaten
Benjamin Yeaten (born 28 February 1969), widely known by his old radio call sign "50",[6] is a Liberian militia leader and mercenary, who served as the Armed Forces of Liberia's deputy commander and director of the Special Security Service (SSS) during the presidency of Charles Taylor.
He rose to the de facto leader of all of Taylor's armed forces and the second most powerful figure in the government during the Second Liberian Civil War.
After the fall of Taylor's regime, he managed to flee his home country, and since then operates covertly in West Africa as commander, recruiter, and military adviser for hire.
[9][10][12] 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.
[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.
[6] 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.
[25] In the war's first year, he commanded a mixed force of Liberian soldiers and Sierran Leonean RUF fighters at Voinjama and Foya, battling local insurgents.
His troops supported the Ivorian New Forces in western Ivory Coast, and were responsible for widespread looting and many civilian deaths in Danané.
A major and successful government counter-offensive in northern Liberia that recaptured Tubmanburg[30] proved inconsequential, while the rebels were gaining strength.
[36][37] 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.
[19] 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.
Expert Robert Tynes commented that Yeaten's choice of work was not surprising, as "armed conflict is his world", and fighting is "what he was taught to do since boyhood".
[44] In January 2009, Liberia's Ministry of Justice officially ordered Yeaten's arrest on charges of murder, and asked Interpol to assist them in searching for him.
[38] In course of the Second Ivorian Civil War in 2010/11, Yeaten reportedly fought alongside the New Forces rebels,[46][47] with whom he had already cooperated almost ten years earlier.
[43] Following the Second Ivorian Civil War, Yeaten was rumored to have a small private army under his command stationed at the Liberian-Ivorian border.
With this unit he resurfaced in December 2016 in the Gambia, reportedly hired by President Jammeh to protect him in case of an invasion of ECOWAS to depose him.
