PARIS, France, March 18 -- The first victim to testify that he had served as a rebel under Ulimo commander Kunti Kamara appeared in Kamara's appeal of his 2022 conviction for war crimes here on Friday. The victim said after weeks of torture, threats and forced labor by Ulimo after the rebel group invaded Lofa County in Liberia in 1993, he followed the advice of his uncle to join Ulimo in order to put an end to the harassment of himself and to help his family.

Detailing the suffering he said he endured at the hands of Kamara and other Ulimo commanders before he joined Ulimo, the witness talked about a day other witnesses have described as "Black Friday". He said he was with six other young men who were captured by Ulimo rebels, separated ...