Second Liberian Civil War
Encyclopedia
The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighbouring Guinea
, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy
(LURD), emerged in northern Liberia
. In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia
, emerged in the south, and by June–July 2003, Charles Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country. The capital Monrovia
was besieged
by LURD, and that group's shelling of the city resulted in the deaths of many civilians. Thousands of people were displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict.
The second civil war began in April 1999, when Liberian dissidents under the banner of the Organisation of Displaced Liberians attacked into Liberia from Guinea. Guinea became LURD’s main source of military and financial support. By July 2000, the various dissident groups had coalesced as the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy
(LURD) led by Sekou Conneh
. The dissidents were thought to be mostly Mandingo and Krahn fighters of the former ULIMO-J and ULIMO-K. Also important in forming LURD was an alliance, brokered by ECOMOG-SL Nigerian chief General Maxwell Khobe, between Liberian dissidents and the Sierra Leonean Kamajors hunter militia, including chiefs Sam Hinga-Norman and Eddie Massally. Against the dissidents Taylor deployed irregular ex-National Patriotic Front of Liberia
fighters with his more privileged units, such as the Anti-Terrorist Unit
, positioned to ensure the irregulars did fight.
Simultaneous September 2000 counter-attack on Guinea from Liberia and Sierra Leone by RUF – still loyal to Taylor and Guinean dissidents – achieved initial success. By January 2001, however, Taylor’s forces were pushed back inside Sierra Leone and Liberia. The insurgents were posing a major threat to the Taylor government. Liberia was now engaged in a complex three-way conflict with Sierra Leone and the Guinea Republic. By the beginning of 2002, both of these countries were supporting Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), while Taylor was supporting various opposition factions in both countries. By supporting — practically creating — the SL rebels, the Revolutionary United Front
, Taylor also drew the enmity of the British and Americans. British and U.S. pressure on Taylor increased with rising financial support for Guinea and U.S./UK-proposed sanctions, a weaker version of which were imposed by UN Security Council May 2001.
By mid-February 2002 LURD troops were just 44 kilometres from Monrovia, at Klay Junction, and Taylor was forced to declare a state of emergency. The February 2002 ICG report says that this attack was made by pursuing ‘a strategy of infiltration of south-western Liberia through the thick bush of Southern Lofa, looping around government strongholds and disrupting supply lines. ... while LURD claims between 300 and 500 men were assigned to that mission,.. the number that actually attacked was likely closer to twenty.’ Any image of a large force gradually pushing toward Monrovia is mistaken; ‘hit and run’ raids, rather than a continuous advance, seem to have been the pattern. Through the first half of 2002 LURD mounted raids in Bomi, Bong, and Montserrado counties, hitting, in addition to Klay Junction, Gbarnga and Tubmanburg, each time temporarily seizing control from government fighters. In May, an attack on Arthington, less than 20 kilometres from the capital, apparently prompted panic in Monrovia. The state of emergency was lifted in September 2002, after, the government claimed, the township of Bopolu had been retaken.
In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Ivoirian-backed Movement for Democracy in Liberia
(MODEL
), emerged in the south, and by the summer of 2003, Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country. Despite some setbacks, by mid-2003 LURD controlled the northern third of the country and was threatening the capital. The capital Monrovia
was besieged by LURD, and that group's shelling of the city resulted in the deaths of many civilians. Thousands of people were displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict.
A new bout of fighting began in March 2003 after a relative lull and by early May, LURD and MODEL had gained control of nearly two thirds of the country, and were threatening Monrovia. Regional and wider pressure led to the convening of a conference in Accra by the then Chair of ECOWAS, John Kufuor of Ghana, on June 4, 2003.
By July 2003 Monrovia appeared to be in danger of being occupied and devastated despite ongoing peace talks. The U.S. established Joint Task Force Liberia
, built around a U.S. navy amphibious group with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit
aboard, positioned off the West African coast.
In July 2003 the United States
sent a small number of troops to bolster security around their embassy in Monrovia, which had come under attack, during Operation Shining Express
.
On 29 July 2003 LURD declared ceasefire. ECOWAS sent Nigeria
n peacekeepers to Liberia. The first Nigerian battalion came from Sierra Leone
, detaching from United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone
, and a second came from Nigeria itself.
President Taylor resigned on August 11, 2003, ahead of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which formed the negotiated end to the war, and was flown into exile in Nigeria
. An arrest warrant for Taylor for war crimes committed by his Revolutionary United Front
rebel allies in Sierra Leone
was later issued by Interpol
but Nigeria refused to deport him for a time unless they receive a specific request from Liberia. Vice-President Moses Blah
replaced Taylor.
On August 14, rebels lifted their siege of Monrovia
and 200 American troops landed to support a West African peace force. Thousands of people danced and sang as American marines and ECOMIL
, the Nigerian-led West African troops, took over the port and bridges which had split the capital into government and rebel-held zones. An estimate 1,000 people had been killed in Monrovia between July 18 and August 14.
Moses Blah
handed over power to the National Transitional Government of Liberia on October 14, 2003. However, the transitional government exercised no real authority in the country, 80% of which was controlled by the rebel groups.
On September 11, 2003, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
recommended the deployment of the peacekeeping mission, the United Nations Mission in Liberia
, to maintain the peace agreement. The UN Security Council approved the mission on September 19 in Resolution 1509
. Nigeria sent in peacekeepers as part of the interim ECOMIL Economic Community of West African States
force. UNMIL was made up of over 15,000 personnel, including both military and civilian troops. The bulk of the personnel were armed military troops, but there were also civilian policemen, as well as political advisers and humanitarian aid workers. On October 1, the first peacekeepers changed their berets and became a UN force, with many more troops earmarked. During three days of riots in Monrovia in October 2004, nearly 400 people were wounded and 15 killed. The UN slowly built up its forces in the country, with 5500 projected to be in place by November 2003, and worked to disarm the various factions. However, instability in neighbouring countries, an incomplete disarmament process, and general discontent threatened Liberia's fragile peace.
and forced a meeting with President Charles Taylor, extracting a promise from him to attend peace talks in Ghana
. A delegation of women organized nonviolence
protests and continued to apply pressure on the warring factions during the peace process. They staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace, bringing about an agreement during the stalled peace talks. Working together, over 3,000 Christian
and Muslim
women mobilized their efforts, and as a result, the women were able to achieve peace in Liberia after a 14-year civil war and helped bring to power the country's first female president. The story is told in the 2008 documentary film Pray the Devil Back to Hell
. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the first modern, and currently the only elected, female head of state
in Africa
.
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy
Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy
The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy was a rebel group in Liberia that was active from 1999 until after the peace accords that ended the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003...
(LURD), emerged in northern Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia
Movement for Democracy in Liberia
The Movement for Democracy in Liberia was a rebel group in Liberia that became active in March 2003, launching attacks from Côte d'Ivoire...
, emerged in the south, and by June–July 2003, Charles Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country. The capital Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
was besieged
Siege of Monrovia
The Siege of Monrovia, which occurred in Monrovia, Liberia between July 18 and August 14, 2003, was a major military confrontation between the Armed Forces of Liberia and LURD rebels during the Second Liberian Civil War. The shelling of the city resulted in the deaths of some 1,000 civilians....
by LURD, and that group's shelling of the city resulted in the deaths of many civilians. Thousands of people were displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict.
Overview of the war
The First Liberian Civil War ended with the Liberian general election, 1997 in which Charles Taylor took power.The second civil war began in April 1999, when Liberian dissidents under the banner of the Organisation of Displaced Liberians attacked into Liberia from Guinea. Guinea became LURD’s main source of military and financial support. By July 2000, the various dissident groups had coalesced as the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy
Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy
The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy was a rebel group in Liberia that was active from 1999 until after the peace accords that ended the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003...
(LURD) led by Sekou Conneh
Sekou Conneh
Sekou Damate Conneh, Jr. is a Liberian politician and former rebel leader.Born in the Liberian town of Gbarnga to an ethnic Mandingo Muslim family, Conneh attended St. Martin's Cathedral School from 1966 to 1973...
. The dissidents were thought to be mostly Mandingo and Krahn fighters of the former ULIMO-J and ULIMO-K. Also important in forming LURD was an alliance, brokered by ECOMOG-SL Nigerian chief General Maxwell Khobe, between Liberian dissidents and the Sierra Leonean Kamajors hunter militia, including chiefs Sam Hinga-Norman and Eddie Massally. Against the dissidents Taylor deployed irregular ex-National Patriotic Front of Liberia
National Patriotic Front of Liberia
The National Patriotic Front of Liberia was a rebel group that initiated and participated in the First Liberian Civil War from 1989 to 1996.-Leadership:...
fighters with his more privileged units, such as the Anti-Terrorist Unit
Anti-Terrorist Unit (Liberia)
The Anti-Terrorist Unit , also known as the Anti-Terrorist Brigade, was a paramilitary force of the government of Liberia, established by then-President Charles Taylor in 1997-98. Chuckie Taylor, Charles Taylor's son, served as commander of the force for a period...
, positioned to ensure the irregulars did fight.
Simultaneous September 2000 counter-attack on Guinea from Liberia and Sierra Leone by RUF – still loyal to Taylor and Guinean dissidents – achieved initial success. By January 2001, however, Taylor’s forces were pushed back inside Sierra Leone and Liberia. The insurgents were posing a major threat to the Taylor government. Liberia was now engaged in a complex three-way conflict with Sierra Leone and the Guinea Republic. By the beginning of 2002, both of these countries were supporting Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), while Taylor was supporting various opposition factions in both countries. By supporting — practically creating — the SL rebels, the Revolutionary United Front
Revolutionary United Front
The Revolutionary United Front was a rebel army that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later developed into a political party, which existed until 2007...
, Taylor also drew the enmity of the British and Americans. British and U.S. pressure on Taylor increased with rising financial support for Guinea and U.S./UK-proposed sanctions, a weaker version of which were imposed by UN Security Council May 2001.
By mid-February 2002 LURD troops were just 44 kilometres from Monrovia, at Klay Junction, and Taylor was forced to declare a state of emergency. The February 2002 ICG report says that this attack was made by pursuing ‘a strategy of infiltration of south-western Liberia through the thick bush of Southern Lofa, looping around government strongholds and disrupting supply lines. ... while LURD claims between 300 and 500 men were assigned to that mission,.. the number that actually attacked was likely closer to twenty.’ Any image of a large force gradually pushing toward Monrovia is mistaken; ‘hit and run’ raids, rather than a continuous advance, seem to have been the pattern. Through the first half of 2002 LURD mounted raids in Bomi, Bong, and Montserrado counties, hitting, in addition to Klay Junction, Gbarnga and Tubmanburg, each time temporarily seizing control from government fighters. In May, an attack on Arthington, less than 20 kilometres from the capital, apparently prompted panic in Monrovia. The state of emergency was lifted in September 2002, after, the government claimed, the township of Bopolu had been retaken.
In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Ivoirian-backed Movement for Democracy in Liberia
Movement for Democracy in Liberia
The Movement for Democracy in Liberia was a rebel group in Liberia that became active in March 2003, launching attacks from Côte d'Ivoire...
(MODEL
Model
- Physical :* Physical model, a physical representation of an object* Scale model, a replica or prototype of an object* 3D modelling, a 3D polygonal representation of an object, usually displayed with a computer* Model aircraft* Car model...
), emerged in the south, and by the summer of 2003, Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country. Despite some setbacks, by mid-2003 LURD controlled the northern third of the country and was threatening the capital. The capital Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
was besieged by LURD, and that group's shelling of the city resulted in the deaths of many civilians. Thousands of people were displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict.
A new bout of fighting began in March 2003 after a relative lull and by early May, LURD and MODEL had gained control of nearly two thirds of the country, and were threatening Monrovia. Regional and wider pressure led to the convening of a conference in Accra by the then Chair of ECOWAS, John Kufuor of Ghana, on June 4, 2003.
By July 2003 Monrovia appeared to be in danger of being occupied and devastated despite ongoing peace talks. The U.S. established Joint Task Force Liberia
Joint Task Force Liberia
Joint Task Force Liberia was a joint task force formed from August to October 2003 in response to the crisis that developed during the Second Liberian Civil War. The on-going civil war destabilized the area and created a large number of refugees as rebel forces closed in on Monrovia and took over...
, built around a U.S. navy amphibious group with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit
26th Marine Expeditionary Unit
The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. The MEU consists of four major parts: a command element,...
aboard, positioned off the West African coast.
In July 2003 the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sent a small number of troops to bolster security around their embassy in Monrovia, which had come under attack, during Operation Shining Express
Operation Shining Express
Operation Shining Express was the July, 2003 deployment of a U.S. Naval task force based around the amphibious ship USS Kearsarge to rescue embassy personnel and American citizens from Liberia's civil war. The deployment was announced on 13 June 2003....
.
On 29 July 2003 LURD declared ceasefire. ECOWAS sent Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n peacekeepers to Liberia. The first Nigerian battalion came from Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, detaching from United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone
United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone
The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone was a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone from 1999 to 2005. It was created by the United Nations Security Council in October 1999 to help with the implementation of the Lomé Peace Accord, an agreement intended to end the Sierra Leonean...
, and a second came from Nigeria itself.
President Taylor resigned on August 11, 2003, ahead of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which formed the negotiated end to the war, and was flown into exile in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. An arrest warrant for Taylor for war crimes committed by his Revolutionary United Front
Revolutionary United Front
The Revolutionary United Front was a rebel army that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later developed into a political party, which existed until 2007...
rebel allies in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
was later issued by Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
but Nigeria refused to deport him for a time unless they receive a specific request from Liberia. Vice-President Moses Blah
Moses Blah
Moses Zeh Blah is a Liberian political figure. He served as Vice President under President Charles Taylor and became the 23rd President of Liberia on 11 August 2003, following Taylor's resignation...
replaced Taylor.
On August 14, rebels lifted their siege of Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
and 200 American troops landed to support a West African peace force. Thousands of people danced and sang as American marines and ECOMIL
ECOMIL
ECOWAS mission in Liberia was a peacekeeping force sent by ECOWAS to Liberia at the end of Second Liberian Civil War in September 2003....
, the Nigerian-led West African troops, took over the port and bridges which had split the capital into government and rebel-held zones. An estimate 1,000 people had been killed in Monrovia between July 18 and August 14.
Moses Blah
Moses Blah
Moses Zeh Blah is a Liberian political figure. He served as Vice President under President Charles Taylor and became the 23rd President of Liberia on 11 August 2003, following Taylor's resignation...
handed over power to the National Transitional Government of Liberia on October 14, 2003. However, the transitional government exercised no real authority in the country, 80% of which was controlled by the rebel groups.
United Nations peacekeeping
In November 1997, following the completion of UNOMIL's mandate on 30 September, the United Nations established the United Nations Peace-building Support Office in Liberia (UNOL), headed by a Representative of the Secretary-General. That first United Nations post-conflict peace-building support office was tasked primarily with assisting the Government in consolidating peace following the July 1997 multiparty elections.On September 11, 2003, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
recommended the deployment of the peacekeeping mission, the United Nations Mission in Liberia
United Nations Mission in Liberia
The United Nations Mission in Liberia is a peace-keeping force established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War....
, to maintain the peace agreement. The UN Security Council approved the mission on September 19 in Resolution 1509
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1509
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1509, adopted unanimously on September 19, 2003, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia, including Resolution 1497 , the Council established the 15,000-strong United Nations Mission in Liberia to assist in implementing a...
. Nigeria sent in peacekeepers as part of the interim ECOMIL Economic Community of West African States
Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region....
force. UNMIL was made up of over 15,000 personnel, including both military and civilian troops. The bulk of the personnel were armed military troops, but there were also civilian policemen, as well as political advisers and humanitarian aid workers. On October 1, the first peacekeepers changed their berets and became a UN force, with many more troops earmarked. During three days of riots in Monrovia in October 2004, nearly 400 people were wounded and 15 killed. The UN slowly built up its forces in the country, with 5500 projected to be in place by November 2003, and worked to disarm the various factions. However, instability in neighbouring countries, an incomplete disarmament process, and general discontent threatened Liberia's fragile peace.
Women of Liberia
A group of Liberian women formed an organization called Women of Liberia Mass Action for PeaceWomen of Liberia Mass Action for Peace
Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace is a peace movement started by women in Liberia, Africa thatbrought an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. Organized by social worker Leymah Gbowee, the movement started with local women praying and singing in a fish market...
and forced a meeting with President Charles Taylor, extracting a promise from him to attend peace talks in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. A delegation of women organized nonviolence
Nonviolence
Nonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
protests and continued to apply pressure on the warring factions during the peace process. They staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace, bringing about an agreement during the stalled peace talks. Working together, over 3,000 Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
women mobilized their efforts, and as a result, the women were able to achieve peace in Liberia after a 14-year civil war and helped bring to power the country's first female president. The story is told in the 2008 documentary film Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Pray the Devil Back to Hell is a documentary film directed by Gini Reticker and produced by Abigail Disney. The film premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Documentary. The film had its theatrical release in New York City on November 7, 2008.The film documents...
. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the first modern, and currently the only elected, female head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
See also
- Siege of MonroviaSiege of MonroviaThe Siege of Monrovia, which occurred in Monrovia, Liberia between July 18 and August 14, 2003, was a major military confrontation between the Armed Forces of Liberia and LURD rebels during the Second Liberian Civil War. The shelling of the city resulted in the deaths of some 1,000 civilians....
- Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without BordersLiving in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without BordersLiving in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders was among the 15 documentaries shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the 82nd Academy Awards....
(documentary filmDocumentary filmDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about Médecins Sans FrontièresMédecins Sans Frontières' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...
's work in Liberia after the war) - History of LiberiaHistory of LiberiaLiberia was set up by citizens of the United States as a colony for former African-American slaves. It is one of only two sovereign states in the world that were started by citizens of a political power as a colony for former slaves of the same political power: Sierra Leone was begun as a colony...
External links
- Insight on Conflict.Liberia
- United Nations Mission in Liberia website
- Text of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, U.S. Institute of Peace
- Photo gallery by Chris HondrosChris HondrosChris Hondros was an American Pulitzer Prize-nominated war photographer.-Biography:Chris Hondros was born in New York City to immigrant Greek and German parents who were child refugees after World War II...