West Africa Ivory Coast, and a succession of military coups in Ghana and Burkina Faso. Since the end of colonialism, the region has been the stage for some brutal conflicts, including: The Economic Community of West African States, established in May 1975, has defined the region of West Africa since 1999 as including the following 15 states: Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Western Africa includes the preceding states with the addition of Mauritania (which withdrew from ECOWAS in 1999), comprising an area of approximately 6.1 million square km. The UN region also includes the island of Saint Helena, a British overseas
History of Liberia from Liberia on July 7, 2003 (passed in Resolution 1478). By mid-2003, LURD controlled the northern third of the country and was threatening the capital, MODEL was active in the south, and Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country: Monrovia and central Liberia. On June 4, 2003, ECOWAS organized peace talks in Accra, Ghana, among the Government of Liberia, civil society, and the rebel groups LURD and MODEL. On the opening ceremony, in Taylor's presence, the SCSL revealed their charge against Taylor which they had kept secret since March, and also issued an international arrest warrant for Taylor.