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abujagirl
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Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf celebrated a decade of peace this Sunday by attending a prayer service held at the scene of one of the worst massacres recorded during the country's 14-year civil war.
Sirleaf was accompanied by high-ranking officials including Vice President Joseph Boaka.
The service held at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Monrovia marking the 10-year anniversary of a peace accord signed in Accra, Ghana.
Presiding Bishop Jensen Seyenkulo narrated tales of the July 1990 massacre at the church carried out by fighters supporting then-President Samuel Doe. Because of their ethnicity, displaced Liberians who had gathered at the church were suspected of backing a rebel faction headed by Prince Johnson, and hundreds were killed by Doe's fighters.
"We became worse than wild animals. We became barbaric," said Bishop Jensen Seyenkulo, who led the service on Sunday that moved some in the church to tears.
"Today, we celebrate and give thanks for what God has brought about-the peace we have," Seyenkulo said.
An estimated 250,000 lives were lost during the 14years war in Liberia.
After the service, Sirleaf sent a mass text message to Liberians "strengthen our bonds and prosper together," she wrote.
"I thank God for ten years of peace and for your contribution to this great achievement."