Boakai escapes Bloody Attack .... As Rival Supporters of CDC, UP clash

Opposition Unity Party(UP) Standard Bearer Ambassador Joseph Nyumah Boakai on Thursday, August 10, 2023 escaped bloody attack, following a clash between rival supporters of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and the former ruling Unity Party(UP).

Amb. Boakai escorts were allegedly attacked by partisans and supporters of the CDC who had gathered at the Varmoma House to welcome President George Manneh Weah and his entourage in District #9, Montserrado County.

Our reporters say President Weah and his entourage were coming from Old Road, District #10 where he went to campaign and had interactions with citizens as part of his Montserrado County Campaign Engagement.

The scene resulted in an uproar after an alleged attack by the ruling CDC on several of UP partisans and supporters, who were heading to their new " Rescue Mission" Campaign Headquarters in New Airfield, in the Old Immigration building in District#9, Montserrao County.

Accordingly, the attack allegedly by the CDC on the escorts of Amb. Boakai left at least four persons severely wounded, while several others survive brutality.

The UP supporters were allegedly entrapped by partisans and supporters of the ruling CDC, who had reportedly prevented Amb. Boakai from reaching to the party's campaign headquarters.

Amb. Boakai was held in a huge traffic at the Ministerial Complex Terrain, where the CDC had gathered nearby with its campaign activities, thereby forcing him to use the Japan-Liberia Freeway to his campaign office.

However, the Unity Party Standard Bearer could not reach in time, thereby prompting one of the rescue team bigots, Daniel Sando, to announce the cancellation of the program, which was geared at naming the party's final campaign team.

Based upon what happened, partisan of UP also blocked the entrance to their party headquarter in Airfield and attacked CDCians and state officers who came to calm down the situation.

Peaceful citizens, who where on Motorcycle wearing CDC shirts and other party materials, were attacked in an intensive stone throwing by UP supporters also.

One of those wounded, 28-years old Darius B. Rode, said that he was on a motorcycle heading to the Unity Party Campaign Headquarters, when a group of individuals wearing the CDC t-shirts and berets held him hostage and began to brutalize him.

He indicated that the group, which used threatening statement of always destabilizing the UP Campaign activities, had already chopped off his right ear, before some other supporters of the UP had come to his rescue.

Besides him, he asserted that the motorcyclist riding him was also brutalized helplessly while all their belongings were taken away.

The four wounded individuals were later rushed to a nearby medical center by some supporters of the UP who had gathered at the campaign headquarters.

Speaking in an exclusive Interview with this paper at the scene, Rufus Paul, Assistance Secretary for Press and Public Affairs of the UP, blamed the CDC for the situation and attack.

According to him, the CDC allegedly prevented the escorts of their standard bearer and VP along with others partisan from coming to their program and brutalized them.

"Our standard bearer was prevented from Coming at the program by the CDC supporters at Varmoma. They brutalized and wonded our partisan. You have been hear and you see everything. Our partisans are responding because when you punch people to the walls and they can't enter thy had to defend themselves, " he stated.

Mr. Paul then called on the international community and the National Elections Commission(NEC)EC to take action and called the CDC to book, adding that they want conflict.

At the same time, the Spokesperson in the office of the Campaign Chair of the Rescue Team, Daniel Sinoe, during his cancellation of the day's activities statement, blamed the ruling CDC for preventing the movement of UP Standard Bearer, Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai from reaching the party's campaign Headquarters on Thursday, August 10.

Mr. Sinoe told a team of journalists that the action of the CDC against the rescue team campaign activities is a recipe for chaos.

He said it was unfortunate that the CDC will not only instruct its partisans and supporters to create an adverse scene, that prevented the UP Standard Bearer from reaching his campaign headquarters, but went further to brutalize and wound several of the party's supporters.

Mr. Sinoe viewed said action as a contravention of the Farmington River Declaration signed by Presidential Candidates and a recipe for electoral violence.

Meanwhile, the head of CDC Campaign Team, Lenn Eugene Nagbe, has denied attack on the vehicles of ex- VP Boakai and vowed to release an official statement of the party in subsequent time.