Source: The Star
A Liberian rebel commander who was once named ‘the most evil man in the world’ for the sacrificing and cannibalisation of children has said he’s changed and vowed to make up for his diabolical past
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A former Liberian rebel commander notorious for sacrificing children and eating their hearts has vowed to find redemption by helping ex-child soldiers off drugs.
The gruesome killer was dubbed the “most evil man in the world” after he admitted to heinous crimes against thousands of innocent people.
Joshua Blahyi was one of the most violent and feared figures to rise from the West African country’s civil wars.
He was known by most as “General Butt Naked” due to fighting battles in the nude – something he believed bestowed him with a “spiritual power” that made him invincible in war.
The Liberia civil wars, which raged from 1989 to 1998 and 1999 to 2003, were filled with vile acts of torture, rape and mass killings.
Joshua Blahyi was also known as “General Butt Naked”
It is estimated that over a quarter of a million people died during the conflicts.
Some of the worst crimes were conducted by child soldiers who were hooked on drugs by their superiors.
These children were left with intense addiction after the fighting came to an end, and many fell into a life of crime and broke away from society.
Blahyi admits that he destroyed thousands of lives and claims he now wants to make amends.
The Liberia civil wars raged from 1989 to 1998 and 1999 to 2003,
He added: “For me, these kids are victims and not perpetrators.
“I usually explain to them my own story, and then I ask them to follow suit by giving their lives to Christ and leaving the drugs.”
In 2012, the diabolical commander built a 15 mile compound to run training sessions with ex-child soldiers in an attempt to reintegrate them into society.
Some of the worst crimes were carried out by child soldiers on drugs
General Butt Naked recalled the atrocities he committed to keep his ‘special spiritual power’ in January 2008, when he testified to Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), Daily Sabah reports.
“Any time we captured a town, I had to make a human sacrifice. They bring to me a living child that I slaughter and take the heart out to eat it,” he told a horrified audience.
He was unable to say accurately how many people he had killed in his reign of terror. He added in tears: “But for what I did, it is not less than twenty thousand.”
The former commander said his turning point came in 1996, after Jesus appeared while he his hands were covered in the blood of a child.
He claims Jesus told him “to stop being a slave”.
Very few people have had to face trial for their war crimes and crimes against humanity in Liberia due to the government’s refusal to establish a war crimes court.
Prince Johnson, another feared war figure who has changed themselves into an evangelist, is the head of the Liberian Senate Committee on Defence and Intelligence.
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