Monrovia was overcome by the stench of death, its streets littered with rotting bodies, sometimes savaged beyond recognition.

Young armed fighters -- many of them adolescents -- roam the city roads brandishing guns and swords.

Many were rebels from two of the country's armed factions -- the National Patriotic Front of Liberia and a wing of the United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia.

There seemed to be no real objective to the fighting, as neither side held on to ground gained for very long. The clashes were followed by senseless orgies of destruction as gangs of armed looters on trucks paraded the streets, pillaging whatever little property remains.

While the fighters seem to take a child-like pride in the conflict, the war meant nothing but misery to ordinary civilians. It was only during the lulls in the violence that residents of the city were able to venture out in search of food and water. Most have lost everything they own.

For many, the violence was a nightmare without end.

This post-coup anarchy and civil war devastated the economy and destroyed all of Liberia’s infrastructure - houses, schools, clinics, roads and bridges. The toll on civilians was dramatic. According to the statistics released from the Liberian Embassy (where), out of an estimated 2.8 million, 150,000 died because of the conflict; 750,000 fled the country, and over 1.2 million were internally displaced.