A former Liberian warlord whose drugged fighters once appeared on camera holding up a human heart dodged questions Wednesday and refused to accept any wrongdoing during an appearance before a public commission. Sekou Conneh is the former head of the rebel group that encircled Liberia's capital and heavily shelled it in the final months of Liberia's 14-year conflict in 2003.
Conneh appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and argued he should be treated as a hero for having launched the attack that led to the defeat of President Charles Taylor, himself on trial for war crimes at The Hague, Netherlands.
Taylor's forces have been accused of numerous atrocities -- including eating the hearts of their slain enemies. But the rebel group Conneh led is also blamed for barbaric actions.
Besides shelling the capital, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy is tied to massacres of entire villages. The group's siege of Monrovia and indiscriminate shelling of the capital led to so many deaths that Liberians began piling up the bodies in front of the U.S. Embassy in a plea for help.
Conneh argued the shelling was the work of Taylor's forces, even though Conneh's rebels allowed themselves to be filmed as they assaulted the city.
He made a brief opening statement before the commission, then said he was willing to answer questions. But the ex-rebel asked more questions of the commissioners than he answered.
"If a minister embezzles or carries out any act of corruption, would you hold the president liable? The president is not responsible for a minister's mistake," Conneh said in response to a question of whether he was accountable for his men's actions.