PHOTO: Daniel Ziankahn, Minister of Defense
BARCLAY TRAINING CENTER, MONROVIA- The Ministry of National Defense has ordered disbanded soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia to retract their threat to burn down commercial banks in Monrovia, a Defense Ministry press release said on Tuesday.
The Ministry says it attention has been drawn to a threatening statement issued on Monday, January 18, 2021, by a group calling itself the “EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL DISBANDED SOLDIERS OF THE ARMED FORCES OF LIBERIA”, in which it threatened to burn down ECOBANK, United Bank of Africa (UBA), and SIB if they dare open pensioner’s accounts for the disbanded soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia, said the Defense Ministry statement on January 19, 2021..
The Ministry takes serious exception to such statement and call on the group to publicly withdraw said statement within 72 hours or the Ministry will be left with no alternative, but to take all necessary actions within its reach in dealing with the threat.
The Ministry further reiterates that any attempt of arson on any of the institutions named, the leadership of said group will be held liable, as it viewed such statement as terroristic, adding that it will not tolerate any mischievous acts that have the propensity to undermine the gains the Ministry of National Defense has made in unifying the veterans community under the Bureau of Veteran Affairs.
The Ministry of National Defense wants to be emphatically clear that any group of Liberians attempting to stall the ongoing account opening process of members of the former AFL at the Barclay Training Center will be vehemently resisted by the Ministry of National Defense and the Armed Forces of Liberia.
The authority of the Ministry of National Defense and the High Command of the Armed Forces of Liberia assure the banking institutions named not to panic as the Armed Forces of Liberia is on full alert to abort any threat coming from any group of Liberians.