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Could Liberia's UFO Records Have Been Lost?

Civil conflict, lost institutional records, and the lack of a dedicated UAP office help explain why possible Liberian reports are difficult to trace.

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On this page

  • Aviation and defence bodies that might hold relevant files
  • How civil conflict disrupted record survival
  • What declassified references do and do not prove
Preview for Could Liberia's UFO Records Have Been Lost?

Introduction

The absence of publicly available Liberian UFO files is best explained by incomplete institutional records rather than by evidence of either systematic government investigations or deliberate concealment. Unlike countries that established dedicated military or civilian programmes to log unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), Liberia has no known public UAP office, no released catalogue of historical investigations, and no declassified collection comparable to those available in the United Kingdom or the United States. At the same time, Liberia’s prolonged civil conflicts, damage to public institutions, and limited archival capacity provide a credible explanation for why historical aviation or security records may be fragmented or unavailable.[cambridge.org]cambridge.orgCambridge University Press & AssessmentA Visit to the National Archives of Liberia | African Research and Documentation | Cambridge CoreA…

Archive Gaps illustration 1

This distinction is important. Missing records are not evidence that extraordinary incidents occurred, but neither do they prove that no unusual aerial observations were ever reported. The available evidence supports a more cautious conclusion: Liberia’s archival history makes the documentary record incomplete, leaving researchers unable to determine whether routine reports were never created, later destroyed, or simply remain inaccessible.

Which Liberian institutions might have held relevant records?

If unidentified aerial observations had been formally reported in Liberia, they would most likely have appeared in ordinary administrative files rather than in a specialised UFO archive.

Potential repositories include:

  • Civil aviation authorities, through pilot reports, air traffic communications, or aviation incident files involving unidentified aircraft or unusual lights.
  • Defence and security institutions, if military personnel considered an observation relevant to national security or airspace monitoring.
  • Police or emergency services, where members of the public reported unexplained aerial events.
  • Executive government correspondence, if unusual incidents attracted political attention.

There is, however, no publicly available evidence that any Liberian agency created a dedicated system for collecting or analysing UFO or UAP reports. Unlike countries such as the United Kingdom, whose Ministry of Defence maintained identifiable UFO policy files and transferred surviving records to the National Archives, Liberia has no comparable publicly documented programme.[The National Archives]nationalarchives.gov.ukThe National Archives UFO reportsThe National ArchivesUFO reports - The National Archives…

Consequently, any historical Liberian material would probably have been scattered among ordinary administrative records rather than preserved as a distinct collection.

Waves Of Conflicts In Africa: The Cause Of The Liberian Civil War

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How civil conflict disrupted record survival

Liberia experienced two devastating civil wars between 1989 and 2003. Beyond their humanitarian consequences, these conflicts severely damaged government administration and the country’s documentary heritage.

One of the clearest descriptions comes from historian Stephen Ellis, who documented the condition of the National Archives of Liberia. According to his account:

  • the archives’ original building was vandalised during the early stages of the first civil war;
  • roughly 40% of archival holdings were reportedly destroyed;
  • surviving records were repeatedly moved between temporary locations;
  • some archives were stored under unsuitable conditions, including buildings used by peacekeeping forces;
  • long-term preservation and cataloguing were substantially disrupted.[Cambridge University Press & Assessment]cambridge.orgCambridge University Press & AssessmentA Visit to the National Archives of Liberia | African Research and Documentation | Cambridge CoreA…

These documented losses matter when evaluating claims about missing UFO records. If routine administrative files from numerous ministries were damaged, dispersed or never fully reorganised after the wars, the absence of aviation or security reports today cannot automatically be interpreted as evidence of intentional suppression.

Instead, it reflects a broader archival problem affecting many areas of Liberian history.

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Why missing files are not evidence of a cover-up

A common misconception in UFO discussions is that an absence of official documentation necessarily indicates that records were deliberately hidden.

Liberia provides a useful example of why that reasoning is weak.

Several more ordinary explanations are consistent with the available evidence:

  • no unusual event was ever formally reported;
  • reports were handled as ordinary aviation or police matters rather than as UFO cases;
  • records were created but later destroyed during conflict;
  • files survived but remain uncatalogued or inaccessible;
  • records were never transferred into a modern archival system.

None of these possibilities can presently be confirmed or excluded.

The documented deterioration of Liberia’s national archives makes archival loss a plausible explanation, but it does not establish that specific UFO files once existed. Evidence of missing capacity should not be confused with evidence of missing incidents.[Cambridge University Press & Assessment]cambridge.orgCambridge University Press & AssessmentA Visit to the National Archives of Liberia | African Research and Documentation | Cambridge CoreA…

Archive Gaps illustration 2

What declassified records do—and do not—show

Countries with recognised official UFO programmes leave identifiable documentary trails.

For example:

  • the UK Ministry of Defence preserved many UFO policy files, public correspondence and sighting reports before transferring surviving material to the National Archives;
  • the United States declassified Project Blue Book records and later established additional processes for organising federal UAP records.[nationalarchives.gov.uk]nationalarchives.gov.ukThe National Archives UFO reportsThe National ArchivesUFO reports - The National Archives…

No equivalent body of Liberian records has been identified in publicly accessible national archives, international declassification projects or recognised historical repositories.

This absence should not be interpreted as evidence that Liberia secretly operated a hidden UFO investigation programme. Rather, it indicates that researchers have not located documentary evidence showing that such a programme existed.

Equally, references to extensive American or British declassified material cannot be used as indirect evidence for Liberia. Each country’s archival history must be assessed independently.

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The role of post-war documentation

One important distinction is that Liberia has invested significant effort in documenting the civil wars themselves.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), established after the conflict, gathered testimony and created an archive relating to wartime human rights abuses. The legislation establishing the Commission also specified that its archives would remain in the public domain except for confidential records protected for a defined period.[trcofliberia.org]trcofliberia.orgTruth and Reconciliation Commission of LiberiaMay 12, 2005…Published: May 12, 2005

This demonstrates two relevant points:

First, Liberia has undertaken substantial archival work in areas considered nationally important.

Second, those efforts focused on documenting conflict, accountability and reconciliation rather than unexplained aerial phenomena.

The existence of well-defined TRC archives therefore does not imply the existence of comparable aviation or UAP collections.

Archive Gaps illustration 3

What researchers can reasonably conclude

The present evidence supports several careful conclusions.

There is no publicly documented Liberian equivalent of Project Blue Book, the UK Ministry of Defence UFO desk or another formal national UAP investigation programme.[The National Archives]nationalarchives.gov.ukThe National Archives UFO reportsThe National ArchivesUFO reports - The National Archives…

Liberia’s documented archival losses during the civil wars make incomplete preservation of government records entirely plausible. That institutional history provides a credible explanation for why historical aviation or security records may be difficult—or impossible—to locate today.[Cambridge University Press & Assessment]cambridge.orgCambridge University Press & AssessmentA Visit to the National Archives of Liberia | African Research and Documentation | Cambridge CoreA…

However, the archival gap should not be overstated. No evidence currently demonstrates that Liberia once possessed extensive UFO files that were later destroyed, nor is there evidence that authorities systematically concealed such records.

For readers examining Liberia’s wider UFO history, the archive gap is therefore best understood as a limitation on what historians can verify. It explains why the documentary record is unusually thin, but it does not itself support claims either for extraordinary aerial phenomena or for a government cover-up.

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Endnotes

1. Source: cambridge.org
Link:https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-research-and-documentation/article/abs/visit-to-the-national-archives-of-liberia/95BCDA927E84B469AF50FCF2C9BEED47

Source snippet

Cambridge University Press & AssessmentA Visit to the National Archives of Liberia | African Research and Documentation | Cambridge CoreA...

2. Source: archives.gov
Title: National Archives Project BLUE BOOK
Link:https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos

Source snippet

National ArchivesProject BLUE BOOK - Unidentified Flying Objects | National Archives...

3. Source: archives.gov
Link:https://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/uap-guidance

4. Source: trcofliberia.org
Title: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia
Link:https://www.trcofliberia.org/about/trc-mandate.html

Source snippet

May 12, 2005...

Published: May 12, 2005

5. Source: trcofliberia.org
Title: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia
Link:https://trcofliberia.org/about/scholarly-resources.html

6. Source: archives.gov
Link:https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps/presidential-libraries

Source snippet

Library Holdings | National ArchivesJanuary 30, 2026 — RECORDS RELATED TO UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS (UFOS) AND UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS P...

Published: January 30, 2026

7. Source: archives.gov
Link:https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps/rg-collections

8. Source: archives.gov
Link:https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps/faqs

9. Source: archives.gov
Link:https://www.archives.gov/about/laws

10. Source: archives.gov
Title: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) | National Archives
Link:https://www.archives.gov/about/laws/nara

11. Source: cambridge.org
Link:https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-research-and-documentation/article/visit-to-the-national-archives-of-liberia/95BCDA927E84B469AF50FCF2C9BEED47

12. Source: archives.gov
Title: Declassified Records | National Archives
Link:https://www.archives.gov/research/declassification.html

13. Source: archives.gov
Title: 50 Years Ago: Government stops investigating UFOs | National Archives
Link:https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2020/nr20-19

14. Source: archives.gov
Link:https://www.archives.gov/about/speeches/2019/naras-role

15. Source: cambridge.org
Title: A Note on the Liberian Archives* | History in Africa | Cambridge Core
Link:https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/history-in-africa/article/abs/note-on-the-liberian-archives/731147E9320E4F77B0FB0BEC193CABA7

16. Source: trcofliberia.org
Title: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia
Link:https://www.trcofliberia.org/press_releases/164.html

17. Source: trcofliberia.org
Title: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia
Link:https://www.trcofliberia.org/press_releases/200.html

19. Source: trcofliberia.org
Link:https://www.trcofliberia.org/about/safe-and-secure.html

20. Source: nationalarchives.gov.uk
Title: The National Archives UFOs
Link:https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/ufos/

Source snippet

The National ArchivesUFOs - The National Archives...

21. Source: nationalarchives.gov.uk
Title: The National Archives UFO reports
Link:https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/explore-by-time-period/postwar/ufo-reports/

Source snippet

The National ArchivesUFO reports - The National Archives...

22. Source: lacc.gov.lr
Title: Home | Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission
Link:https://www.lacc.gov.lr/

Source snippet

May 28, 2026 — Wednesday, May 27, 2026 Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission Commences Risk Assessment at CDA SUPREME COURT DENIED MOTION TO...

Published: May 28, 2026

23. Source: lcaa.gov.lr
Link:https://lcaa.gov.lr/media/press-releases/liberia-launches-comprehensive-aviation-safety-strategy-strengthen-oversight

Source snippet

April 29, 2026 — Liberia Launches Comprehensive Aviation Safety Strategy to Strengthen Oversight April 29, 2026 LIBERIA LAUNCHES COMPREHE...

Published: April 29, 2026

24. Source: lcaa.gov.lr
Link:https://lcaa.gov.lr/media/press-releases/new-chapter-liberian-aviation-reforming-safety-and-growth

25. Source: lcaa.gov.lr
Title: Part 17A Aviation Security | Liberia Civil Aviation Authority
Link:https://lcaa.gov.lr/document/aviation-security-regulations/part-17a-aviation-security

26. Source: media.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Title: nationalarchives.gov.uk The Cold War and UFOs | The National Archives
Link:https://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/cold-war-ufos/

27. Source: media.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Link:https://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/the-truth-is-in-here-ufos-at-the-national-archives/

28. Source: discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Link:https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16460007

29. Source: discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Link:https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F259293

30. Source: lcaa.gov.lr
Link:https://www.lcaa.gov.lr/general/about-liberia-civil-aviation-authority

31. Source: lcaa.gov.lr
Link:https://www.lcaa.gov.lr/index.php/

Additional References

32. Source: youtube.com
Title: Waves Of Conflicts In Africa: The Cause Of The Liberian Civil War
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_4i4r60p4c

Source snippet

They Burned Africa's Archives — What the Colonizers Tried to Erase...

33. Source: youtube.com
Title: The Bizarre Story of Pan Am’s Secret African Airport
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym5d16hZ3A0

Source snippet

Untangling West Africa: The Pivotal Post-Colonial Wars that Defined an Era...

34. Source: youtube.com
Title: They Burned Africa’s Archives — What the Colonizers Tried to Erase
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpfYqz9KVrw

Source snippet

The Bizarre Story of Pan Am's Secret African Airport...

35. Source: youtube.com
Title: Freedom of Information in Liberia (Carter Center)
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMlTTEQvsOw

Source snippet

Waves Of Conflicts In Africa: The Cause Of The Liberian Civil War...

36. Source: youtube.com
Title: Untangling West Africa: The Pivotal Post-Colonial Wars that Defined an Era
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFx1tdZGnqA

37. Source: searcharchives.bl.uk
Title: uk EA P027/1/1/1/6/17
Link:https://searcharchives.bl.uk/catalog/040-002754894