Introduction
The full scale rebellion in Liberia is part of a complicated web of conflicts which began more than a decade ago.
Governments in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast have been struggling to hold power against rebel groups, trading accusations with neighbouring nations over who is backing who.
Liberia's rebel-turned-president, Charles Taylor, was elected after a civil war in the 1990s.
He is accused of arming rebels in Sierra Leone's civil war, but is now under threat himself from a rebel group which he claims started operating out of Guinea.
Click through the guide to trace how these countries have become enmeshed in each other's disputes.
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