Pandemonium broke out recently on Dehsuah Street, one of the busiest streets in the southeastern provincial capital of Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, when commotion ensued between a group of MODEL fighters who were wounded during the heat of the war, and a citizen of Grand Gedeh, identified as Sam Doebayou The palaver had started over a bicycle which Sam Doebayou is reported to have carried from a "wounded" fighter of MODEL, identified as Prince Joloe.

According to our Grand Gedeh County Correspondent, Mr. Doebayou was stabbed twice on the head by the ex-fighters of MODEL, who now referred to themselves as "wounded soldiers".

The victim, Mr. Doebayou, explaining his ordeal to our correspondent, said the MODEL fighters had accused him of possessing a motor cycle belonging to Prince Joloe.

Mr. Doebayou claimed he did not know Prince "from anywhere, and denied claims that the latter gave him a motorcycle when MODEL captured Zwedru in March last year, as Prince had claimed.

"I was surprised on that fateful evening to have seen Prince with a group of his colleagues attacking me from angles with sticks, stones and clutches," said Mr. Doebayou said.

He accused the MODEL ex-fighters of beating him for "living good life", adding, "When I asked them why they attacked me, the only thing I heard them telling me was, 'just wait and see, you will tell us where is the source of your luxurious life in the midst of hardship here." He said that after struggling to escape from them, he was hit twice on the head with an unknown object.

He said it was from his severe bleeding that two of his friends not named intervened, but they too were easily overrun by the disgruntle fighters," Doebayou said.

According to Doebayou, the two friends managed to escape when a joint team of Liberia National Police, UNMIL Civilian Police and the Ethiopian contingent of UNMIL arrived on the scene to put things under control.

When contacted for comment, Prince Joloe said he had given the bicycle to Sam for L$1,500 since he was his cousin.

Prince told The Analyst that Sam had not paid L$1,000 and continued to ridicule him whenever be asked for the balance L$500.

He said he became inpatient with Sam's alleged empty promises and decided to retrieve his cycle, though he did say whether refunded Sam's L$1,000.

Prince indicated that it was at this juncture that Sam reportedly capitalized on his wounds and resorted to using force.

He said his sympathizers tussled with Sam to retrieve his "captured cycle". "Only Sam attempted hitting me but I did not do anything to him," Prince said.

When we visited the headquarters of the LNP for comment, an officer said the police was investigating the case and have meanwhile impounded the bike pending interrogation.

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