‘Land Dispute’ Turns Red-Light ‘Red’

By Godgift Harris

A tense and violent confrontation erupted early Thursday morning, November 13, 2025, in Paynesville’s bustling Red-Light Market.

A call for police intervention eventually turned the entire market ‘red’ for vendors and those with purchasing power.

The situation erupted as police officers attempted to enforce a controversial court order, sparking chaos, fear and widespread condemnation from residents and vendors.

Onlooker, who trooped to witness the near free-for-all fight described the operation as “brutal and unnecessary.”

Eyewitnesses confirmed seen heavily armed officers from the Liberia National Police (LNP), equipped with teargas, shields and batons, stormed the market at dawn in what authorities later described as an enforcement exercise to remove illegal occupants, and traders from disputed property.

“It was total confusion to the extent that people were running, crying, and gasping for air from the sporadic spray of teargas,” said Abigail Johnson, a vendor who said, she narrowly escaped the confrontation.

“The police came shouting, beating people, and scattering our goods. I thought I was going to die.”

According to onlookers, the standoff began when officers tried to evict vendors, and business owners operating near a mosque, and several commercial stalls, reportedly built on land at the center of a long-running property dispute.

However, the operation quickly spiraled out of control, several traders resisted the eviction, and some were accused of stone throwing, and makeshift petrol bombs at the police.

The confrontation turned the usually crowded Red Light Market into a “war zone” as the police were using teargas and batons; people were retaliating. It was pure chaos,” said Fatu Kamara, a local shop owner.

“We understand the law, but this level of force was unnecessary.”

As the situation snagged, police hierarchy insisted that the crackdown was part of a lawful enforcement of a court order that involved a private property.

Meanwhile, late in the afternoon, the situation subsided when police gain full control of the disputed parcel of land.