Samuel Doe

=== Increased repression ===
General [[Thomas Quiwonkpa]], who had been a leader of the 1980 coup along with Doe, attempted to seize power on 12 November 1985; the attempt failed after fighting in [[Monrovia]] in which Quiwonkpa was killed. Doe also announced in a radio and television broadcast that anyone found on the streets after a 6 p.m. curfew would be considered a rebel and executed immediately.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/13/world/liberia-says-it-foiled-coup-attempt.html|title=LIBERIA SAYS IT FOILED COUP ATTEMPT (Published 1985)|newspaper=The New York Times|date=13 November 1985|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=15 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115093334/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/13/world/liberia-says-it-foiled-coup-attempt.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-11-16-mn-2771-story.html|title=Liberian Troops Kill Leader of Attempted Coup|date=16 November 1985|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=24 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324155403/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-11-16-mn-2771-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Doe's corrupt and totalitarian government became even more repressive after the attempted coup, shutting down newspapers and banning political activity. The government's mistreatment of certain ethnic groups, particularly the [[Gio people|Gio]] (or Dan) and the [[Mano people|Mano]] in the north (Quiwonkpa was an ethnic Gio), resulted in divisions and violence among indigenous populations who until then had coexisted peacefully.