This content was written by a student and assessed as. After recovering in 2016 from the twin shocks of the ebola virus disease evd epidemic and collapse of iron exports. The war began on march 23, 1991, when the revolutionary united front ruf under foday sankoh, with support of liberian rebel leader charles taylor and his group, the national patriotic front of liberia nfpl, attempted to overthrow the government of sierra leonean president. Sierra leone s economy witnessed sharp moderation in growth in 2017, reflecting weak recovery of. Africa, civil war, corruption, forms of power, sociological theory, sierra leone. An ordinance to consolidate and amend the law relating to the constitution of the supreme court and magistrates courts of sierra leone and the administration of. Our results are complementary to the other recent studies mentioned above, none of which examines institutional impacts.
May, 2016 twentyfive years ago, sierra leone plunged into a decadelong brutal civil war, made famous by the chilling practice of mass amputations of hands, arms and legs and the film blood diamond. The sierra leone civil war was an armed conflict in the west african country of sierra leone from 1991 t0 2002. Underlying grievances and the role of the revolutionary united front the root of the conflict is and remains diamonds, diamonds and diamonds. Sierra leones army came under attack not only from the npfl but also from the revolutionary united front ruf, led by former sierra leone army corporal foday sankoh, who was collaborating with the liberian rebels. Diamond miners in sierra leone sifting through the sand in search of diamonds. Jan 18, 2002 press releases, letters and testimony by then ambassador to the united states john ernest leigh, in pdf format. Rape, sexual slavery and forced marriages were commonplace during the conflict. Apr 25, 2017 civil war in sierra leone and the role of blood diamonds the civil war in sierra leone has been one of the most grotesque ones in history, and the nations rich diamond reserves have driven much of the violence. Resources and governance in sierra leones civil war. Assistance congressional research service summary this report covers developments in liberia, a small, poor west african country. The end of the twentieth century saw an adverse escalation in armed conflict. The sierra leone civil war sierra leone was ravaged by a civil war that started in 1991 and lasted until 2002. As part of crisis groups research into civilian vigilante groups in counterinsurgencies in africa, senior research analyst ned dalby went to sierra leone to investigate the wartime civil defence forces and their core fighters, the kamajors. Two million were relocated and tens of thousands died in this 11 year war.
In the earlier period, military coups in 1967, 1968, 1992, 1996, 1997, punctuated a history of endemic social unrest that escalated into overt civil war in 1991, lasting until 2002. Assets project and how it could be applied to postconflict development in sierra leone. The war began on march 23, 1991, when the revolutionary united front ruf under foday sankoh, with support of liberian rebel leader charles taylor and his group, the national patriotic front of liberia nfpl, attempted to overthrow the government of sierra leonean president joseph. War and local collective action in sierra leone john bellowsa, edward miguelb. Among these, sierra leones civil war has been credited with varied narrations of conflicts. Pdf an examination of the sierra leone war researchgate. Sierra leone was ravaged by a civil war that started in 1991 and lasted until 2002. Sierra leone has been ravaged by a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002, and resulted in some 70,000 casualties and 2. Diamonds and other minerals were used to fund combatants, and also became the spoils of war. Liberia and sierra leone have common borders and interwoven civil war experiences.
The conditions that led to the war included a repressive predatory. All of us were lined up again and asked whether we were interested in joining the. The process of deforestation in sierra leone already started before the civil war, but it is generally assumed that the conflict exacerbated it. The causes of the sierra leone civil war einternational relations. Although small numbers of british personnel had been deployed previously, palliser was the first largescale intervention by british forces in the sierra leone civil war. And yet the sierra leonean conflict is unique among the new wars in that the role of. Inequitable benefitssharing of natural resource wealth was one of the drivers in the civil war that ravaged the country from 1991 to 2002. Momoh responded by deploying troops to the border region to repel the incursion of liberian rebels known as the national patriotic front of liberia npfl, led by charles taylor. During the war an estimated 50,000 were killed, over one million were displaced from their homes, and thousands more were victims of brutal amputa tions, rapes, and assaults human rights watch, 1999. Shocking war crimes in sierra leone human rights watch. This lesson will briefly summarize the sierra leone civil war, how and why it started, and the key events of sierra leone s civil war from its beginning in 1991 to its end in 2002.
The decadelong war in sierra leone began in 1991 as a revolt against a longstanding dictatorship. The sierra leone civil war revealed two major f acts. Merging competing militaries after civil wars prism national. During the sierra leone civil war gender specific violence was widespread. The causes of the sierra leone civil war have been explained in various publications1. This civil war erupted because of the mounting dissatisfaction of the people, especially the youth that were engrossed by the rebellious revolutionary united front ruf, towards the politics of the country that was set apart by its corruption, negligence and electoral violence. It began in march 1991, as the revolutionary united front ruf.
There are no accurate statistics of the casualties. With the political situation stable, the mission helped organize sierra leones first ever free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections by providing logistics and public information support. The armed conflict in sierra leone human rights watch. The ruf claimed to fight for a new sierra leone of freedom, justice. During the civil war in sierra leone, while rich families could afford to send their children away to safe locations, children from poor families were often left with no school or occupation, and. Taylor deserves 100 years in jail for his role in the atrocities bbc april 26 2012. The sierra leone civil war 19912002 was a civil war in sierra leone that began on 23 march 1991 when the revolutionary united front ruf, with support from the special forces of charles taylors national patriotic front of liberia npfl, intervened in sierra leone in an attempt to overthrow the joseph momoh government. Received 28 december 2008 received in revised form 25 july 2009. In sierra leone, the environmental causes and consequences of war have been prominent for the past 20 years. Until the end of the cold war, conventional wisdom held that civil wars. Using a timeline, students will learn the details of the civil war as well as learning about the victims of the war, what conflict diamonds are and how sierra leone dealt with its troubled past. Taylor, the former president of liberia and once a powerful warlord, was convicted april 26 by an international tribunal of 11. The underlying causes of fragility and instability in. Sierra leone has been ravaged by a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002, and resulted in some.
It has been estimated by physicians for human rights phr that up to 257,000 women were victims of gender related violence during the war. Pdf this study is a historical analysis of sierra leones state structure in the 20th and 21st centuries. Aug 07, 2015 sierra leones trc describes the violence during the civil war thus. To cite one example, a series of human rights watch reports on the. This fleeting interest, however, obscured much of the longer history of the region, and made sierra leone a laboratory for postcold war interventions. It was in the year 1991, when the civil war in sierra leone was started by the revolutionary united front led by foday sankoh. It is only by combining social navigation with military tactics. Civil war in sierra leone and the role of blood diamonds.
The distribution of plants and animals has been influenced by such factors as relief and soil types and, perhaps more important, by farming methods and civil strife. Diamonds and conflict in sierra leone diamonds since their initial discovery in sierra leone in 1932, the country has exported more than 32 million carats of diamonds. Rebels from the ongoing liberian civil war ignited the 19912001 sierra leone war. It was the result of diverse interfaces pertaining to. Summary throughout the armed conflict in sierra leone from 1991 to 2001, thousands of women and girls of all ages. Conflict profile sierra leone 1991 2001 the decadelong war in sierra leone began in 1991 as a revolt against a longstanding dictatorship. Combatants subsequently moved between them with ease. From the series diamond road, produced by kensington communications.
Explain the reasons why sierra leone descended into civil war in 1991 2. After 10 years of civil war, sierra leone is at peace. For them, joining the army meant escape and an opportunity to achieve more. The western media perspective of a barbaric africa. Sierra leone web government statements and documents during.
The war was fueled by wealth from diamonds located in the east of the country, where the rebel united front ruf was strongest. Internal conflict crippled the country from the late 1980s onward, culminating in a brutal civil war that took place from 1991 to 2002. Merging competing military forces after civil wars, washington. Child soldiers in the civil war in sierra leone request pdf. The difficulties in the country were compounded in march 1991 when conflict in neighbouring liberia spilled over the border into sierra leone. The diamonds that were native to this land fueled the civil conflict because the wealth generated from the diamonds were not allocated properly. The estimation technique used to combine several independent samples of information in. In 1997, ccf sponsorship activities were forced to a halt by ongoing and brutal civil war that threatened the lives of innocent civilians, including ccf staff members. The united kingdom began a military intervention in sierra leone on 7 may 2000 under the codename operation palliser. Conflict diamonds in sierra leone excerpt from diamond road. The effect of civil war on the economic development of sierra. During the war an estimated 50,000 sierra leoneans were killed, over one million were displaced from their.
The conflict in sierra leone and the engagement of the united nations the conflict in sierra leone dates from march 1991 when fighters of the revolutionary united front ruf launched a war from the east of the country near the border with liberia to overthrow the government. Ibrahim kamara 2000 to the economist, this is war motivated by greed. Between 1991 and 2002, sierra leone was heavily damaged by a tremendously violent civil war. The sierra leone civil war 19912002 was a civil war in sierra leone that began on 23. Sierra leone united nations development programme undp. Three peace accords were signed in 1996, 1997 and 1999 in abidjan, conakry and lame respectively. Aug, 2008 the people of kono, sierra leone have experienced the horrors of civil war and blood diamonds.
Chris coulter abstract this article looks at how the category of female fighters in the sierra leone civil war 19912002 was interpreted by the local population and by the international humanitarian community. Sierra leone lion mountain was embroiled in a civil war that resulted in the death of over 50,000 civilians. Sierra leone has been ravaged by a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002, and. Since march 1991, sierra leone has experienced continuous civil strife culminating. Reports emerged of indiscriminate amputations, abductions of women and children, recruitment of children as combatants, rape, sexual slavery, cannibalism, gratuitous killings and wanton destruction of villages and towns. Sankoh was a military corporal in the army before he was imprisoned by the apc government for his alleged involvement in an abortive military coup. They causes include issues of bad governance, unjust trends in the history of, especially, the post. At one end the country is seen as a victim of resource curse and on the other end it reflects the public grievance transpired from the incompetence of government pham, 2007. The war in sierra leone was started by the late foday sankoh and the revolutionary united front ruf when they invaded sierra leone from the eastern border with liberia in 1991. Its been 25 years since sierra leones brutal civil war. The case of sierra leone context the civil war, ddr, transitional justice and the postconflict situation the civil war in sierra leone started in march 1991 when ruf forces, headed by foday saybana sankoh,1 attacked the countrys eastern border town of bomaru, in the kailahun district, from. What factors have caused and sustained war in the two countries. The war was characterized by widespread atrocities, including the abduction of children and systematic rape.
Freetown marked the most intensive and concentrated period of human rights violations in sierra leone s eightyear civil war, said peter takirambudde. For sierra leoneans who did not have access to arable land, joining the rebel cause was an. Yet, for sierra leone our results may seem surprising given the narratives that surround the civil war in sierra leone, and we hasten to add an important caveat. The war in sierra leone lasted from march 1991, when a group of rebels. United frontsierra leone rufsl banner, and engaged the state in a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002. The trade in blood diamonds was the focal point of the trial, which demonstrated how natural resource exploitation can serve to fund armed conflict and lead to the abuse of human rights. The sentence on charles taylor is to be pronounced on may 30, 2012, and sierra leoneans will finally receive some justice for the atrocities they have endured. May 17, 2007 sierra leone ratified the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in 1988 without reservation, but since it was emerging from an 11year civil war that had. This thesis examines the crises of war and state collapse in the west african state of sierra leone, which has been devastated by a civil rebellion which began ostensibly as armed incursions from.
Impact of the civil war in sierra leone on deforestation. Remnants of the extensive original forest cover survive in the gola forest reserves, in the southeastern hill country near the liberian border. The war in sierra leone lasted from march 1991, when a group of rebels backed by the liberian. For the first time since the aftermath of world war ii, a former head of state was indicted and found guilty of war crimes. The neglect of youth is shortsighted and counterproductive in peace building. The war in sierra leone lasted from march 1991, when a group of rebels backed by the liberian leader charles taylor invaded the country from liberia, to january 2002, when the united nations special representative of the secretarygeneral srsg in sierra leone declared the war over. Sierra leones trc describes the violence during the civil war thus.
Impact of the civil war in sierra leone on deforestation wur edepot. Since the end of the war, the government of sierra leone has undergone the arduous task of rebuilding the countrys physical and. Sierra leone came to world attention in the 1990s when a catastrophic civil war linked to the diamond trade was reported globally. May 2002 report of the national recovery committee. Sierra leone s army came under attack not only from the npfl but also from the revolutionary united front ruf, led by former sierra leone army corporal foday sankoh, who was collaborating with the liberian rebels.
Beginning in march 1991, driven by the desire to overthrow the current government, oust corrupt politicians, and redistribute the resources of sierra leone, the. The afrc soon merged with the rebel ruf who had been terrorising the. United front sierra leone rufsl banner, and engaged the state in a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002. The present study investigated the impact of the civil war on deforestation, fallow periods and commercial logging, in the region around the gola rainforests national park. Sierra leone s trc describes the violence during the civil war thus. Hayward, a higher education specialist has described sierra leone as a pioneer of west african history. The civil war in sierra leone raged from 1991 to 2002. The majority of assaults were carried out by the revolutionary united front ruf. Our analysis does not imply that resources or poor governance played no role in the war. Oct 25, 2012 after he was found guilty of aiding and abetting the war crimes during the sierra leone civil war in the unbacked special court for sierra leone on april 26 2012, one victim, whose forearms were amputated during the war, indignantly talked to the bbc. On 18 january 2002, the war in sierra leone was officially declared ended. The category of the female fighter both challenges and. Western media coverage of the civil war in sierra leone. British military intervention in the sierra leone civil war.
Daniel kaindaneh is the acting national director for ccf in sierra leone. Although the conflict has been over for more than a decade, this western african country is still struggling to recover from the bloodshed and violence that left more than 50,000 people dead. The war was declared to have finished on 18 january 2002 officially. Mcferson1 abstract gender inequality in sierra leone, after colonialism among the worst in subsaharan africa, has been heightened further by the civil war of 19922002which was related in part to the struggle for control of blood diamonds but also to longstanding. During the war an estimated 50,000 sierra leoneans were killed, over one million were displaced from their homes, and thousands were victims of brutal amputations, rapes, and assaults human rights. Liberia held elections in october 2005, with a presidential runoff in november, a key step in a peacebuilding process following its second civil war in a decade.
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