Benjamin Yeaten (born 28 February 1969), widely known by his old radio call sign "50", is a Liberian militia leader and mercenary, who served as the Armed Forces of Liberia's deputy commander and director of the Special Security Service (SSS) during the presidency of Charles Taylor. Notorious for committing several war crimes, Yeaten was one of Taylor's most trusted and loyal followers. He rose to the de facto leader of all of Taylor's armed forces and the second most powerful figure in the government during the Second Liberian Civil War. After the fall of Taylor's regime, he managed to flee his home country, and since then operates covertly in West Africa as commander, recruiter, and military adviser for hire.
Biography
Service under Charles Taylor
Early life and rise in ranks
Benjamin Yeaten was born on 28 February 1969 in Tiaplay, Nimba County, Liberia, which was one of the areas in Liberia that suffered the most under Samuel Doe's regime. As result, Yeaten joined the rebel army that Charles Taylor was building in exile in Tajura, Libya. At the time of his enlistment, he was 14 or 15 and one of the youngest recruits in the new force. Displaying determination, bravery and loyalty during the guerilla training at Tajura, Yeaten impressed Taylor himself.
With his rebel force officially consolidated as the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), Taylor launched his insurgency against Doe's government in 1989, starting the First Liberian Civil War. Yeaten also took part in the civil war, and quickly rose through the ranks in the NPFL. Yeaten became close to his leader, viewing him as "father figure". In turn, Taylor trusted him, and Yeaten was described as "Taylor's surrogate son in the rebel hierarchy" at the time. In course of the first civil war, Yeaten also earned his feared and brutal reputation. The men under his command committed numerous massacres, such as the one at Carter Camp in 1993, where over 600 civilians were murdered.
Peacetime 1997–99
When Taylor won the civil war and became President of Liberia in 1997, Yeaten came to hold the most important security positions in the new government. He was appointed head of the Special Security Service (SSS, also known as "ninjas"), which served as presidential guard, and the Special Operations Division. Under his command, the SSS quickly became infamous for its brutality and abuses, while Yeaten came to serve as Taylor's hitman. He carried out numerous political murders, with one of the most notorious cases occurring shortly after the Liberian general election, 1997: On 3 December 1997, Samuel Dokie, one of Taylor's political rivals, was detained alongside his family in Nimba County. On the following day, Yeaten and his men arrived, took them into custody, and transported them to an undisclosed location. The whole family was subsequently brutally murdered, and when their corpses were found, the bodies were so extremely mutilated that only Samuel Dokie's head was still identifiable. Although Dokie's death was a scandal with much publicity, which prompted President Taylor to deny any involvement in the killings and order an investigation, Yeaten was never prosecuted and kept his job. The U.S. embassy at the time simply noted that Yeaten was one of the "known human rights abusers" in Liberia. Despite his power in the government, Yeaten still faced a rival in the form of Taylor's son Charles McArther Emmanuel, better known as "Chuckie". Chuckie led the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) which was effectively in competition for resources with Yeaten's units. Though the two vied for influence and President Taylor's attention, Yeaten was generally more powerful and much more feared than Chuckie.
When President Taylor began to support the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) during the Sierra Leone Civil War, Yeaten became involved in supplying arms and ammunition to these rebels. Independently from Taylor, Yeaten developed a close friendship with RUF commander Sam Bockarie in 1998, and consequently often communicated with him without authorization.