Sierra leone and child soldiers during the civil war. Sierra leone 1991 2001 the decadelong war in sierra leone began in 1991 as a revolt against a longstanding dictatorship. However, despite the positive developments in sierra leone, victims of the civil war still need assistance. Sierra leone has been ravaged by a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002, and resulted in some 70,000 casualties and 2. The role of civil societies on youth empowerment in post war sierra leone. This fleeting interest, however, obscured much of the longer history of the region, and made sierra leone a laboratory for postcold war interventions. Sierra leone is a country that is rich in natural minerals used to produce aluminium, titanium and gold and diamonds. Characterized by rampant human rights abuses and impunity, the conflict pitted the revolutionary united front ruf, a wellorganized rebel force aided by liberia, against the government of sierra leone and its allies.
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. In early may 2000, the revolutionary united front rufone of the main parties to the civil war advanced. Sierra leone has invested in education after the civil war but it is unclear if persons with disabilities have benefited from this effort. 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 momah. Dec 06, 2002 by 1991, sierra leone had a corrupt government and openly illicit diamond trading and was a vulnerable and attractive site for armed rebellion. The causes of the sierra leone civil war einternational relations. The civil war was the result of varied interactions between structural problems in sierra leone society which increased grievances among. Oct 18, 2002 one of the major reasons for this transition from civil war to the beginnings of peace, stability and democracy is the success of the united nations mission in sierra leone unamsil, which was. The role of diamonds in sierra leone history and conflict diva. Sierra leone has been ravaged by a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002, and resulted in. What factors have caused and sustained war in the two countries.
We seek to explain local variation in conflict intensity against the backdrop of an intense and prolonged war. Rebels from the ongoing liberian civil war ignited the 19912001. Civil war broke out in 1990 under the command of former sierra leonean army corporal foday sankoh, who launched his first attack in villages in kailahun district in eastern sierra leone on march. The resulting civil war lasted 11 years, enveloped the country, and. 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. Students will understand the effects of the recent civil war in terms of conflict diamonds. Feb 14, 1999 virtually unnoticed in the catalogue of horrors emanating from sierra leone s brutal civil war is the forcible conscription of children, some as young as 7 years old. On 23 march 1991, a band of armed dissidents invaded eastern sierra leone, inaugurating a civil war that many observers attribute to a crisis of youth. Nov, 2002 in january 2002, after the formal conclusion of a unsupervised disarmament, the sierra leone government announced that the countrys decadelong war was over. Three peace accords were signed in 1996, 1997 and 1999 in abidjan, conakry and lame respectively. Amputations in the sierra leone conflict artemis christodulou1 introduction 1. Since the 15th century sierra leone had been a trading post for portuguese, french and dutch traders. Conclusionthe work carried out by civil society organizations over the years in post war sierra leone can be considered of major importance given the fact that first of all, civil society organizations have been operating under a similar scope and with the same objectives.
War and peacebuilding in sierra leone abu bakarr bah civil wars in africa and other parts of the world have raised considerable debate about international responses to security and humanitarian crises. Pdf the trauma of war in sierra leone researchgate. Taylor deserves 100 years in jail for his role in the atrocities bbc april 26 2012. British military intervention in the sierra leone civil war. Explain the reasons why sierra leone descended into civil war in 1991 2. One notable aspect of this project is the availability of extensive household data on conflict. The underlying causes of fragility and instability in sierra leone. The war was fueled by wealth from diamonds located in the east of the country, where the rebel united front ruf was strongest.
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. The war in sierra leone lasted from march 1991, when a group of rebels backed by the liberian. Liberia and sierra leone have common borders and interwoven civil war experiences. History of sierra leones civil war hands for africa. Resources and governance in sierra leones civil war. To this day, diamonds are one of the major resources in the development of sierra leone. Pdf the sierra leone civil war and the remaking of. On 18 january 2002, the war in sierra leone was officially declared ended. The conditions that led to the war included a repressive predatory. Aug, 2020 one of the main goals of the invasion was to get control of sierra leone s diamonds. As a proxy for governance quality we exploit exogenous variation in political competition. A number of researchers have reported increases in mental health conditions amongst the population in sierra leone who were affected by the civil war, including anxiety, drug abuse, schizophrenia. The latter group bonded under the revolutionary united front sierra leone rufsl banner, and engaged the state in a civil war that lasted. Disability, poverty, and schooling in postcivil war in.
The war lasted for eleven years, and was formally declared. Report 2011 states that 90% of the civil wars in the last decade took place in countries that had already experienced a civil war in the last. The sierra leonean civil war first burst onto the general consciousness of. In 2009, we conducted a household field survey in 17 randomly selected localities of 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. Nonetheless, it remains uncertain how the war impacted forests and biodiversity in sierra leone squire, 2001, united nations environment programme, 2010. Jan 16, 2017 the sierra leone civil war 1991 2002 the sierra leone civil war was an armed conflict in the west african country of sierra leone from 1991 t0 2002. On march 23, a civil war began when the revolutionary united front, a group of 100 fighters from sierra leone and liberia, invaded east sierra leone.
It collected a lot of information about the recent history of sierra leone and about the war and its causes and consequences. It should be noted that both intentional and unintentional or direct and indirect amputation took place during the civil war. Sierra leone united nations development programme undp. Making sense of a senseless war university of denver. They mined diamonds using forced labor which were used to purchase arms and supplies, usually through liberia. Students will understand the location, major landforms, and general geography of sierra leone and west africa. The war was characterized by widespread atrocities, including the abduction of children and systematic rape. Impact of the civil war in sierra leone on deforestation. The deforestation process in sierra leone already started before the civil war but it is generally assumed that the conflict had an impact on the forests integrity.
Our analysis does not imply that resources or poor governance played no role in the war. From 1991 to 2002, sierra leone was devastated by civil war after a rebel group, the revolutionary united front, intervened in an attempt to overthrow the countrys joseph momoh government. During sierra leones civil war 19912002, the countrys diamonds became famousnot for their high quality, but because they were blood diamonds. In 1992, the second year of the war, the ruf rebels pushed into kono district which is the main diamondproducing area of the country. The underlying causes of fragility and instability in sierra. Revenues from diamond exports are making a positive contribution to rebuilding the countrys infrastructure, health services, and education systems. The sierra leone civil war was an armed conflict in the west african country of sierra leone from 1991 t0 2002. Questions have been raised about the reasons and circumstances under which the international community intervenes in war torn countries and the. I was able to conclude in my study that diamonds in sierra leone was not the main. Diamond sector management and kimberlite mining in sierra leone. In sierra leone, young people constitute about 34 per cent of the countrys total 5. Since march 1991, sierra leone has experienced continuous civil strife culminating in a protracted civil war, leading to widespread destructions of infrastructures and property, and the death of thousands of people, many more injured and over half of the population displaced. It will be unfair to treat the sierra leone civil war as a mindless act of.
When the state fails rectifies this, providing a comprehensive and critical analysis of the intervention. Civil war in sierra leone and the role of blood diamonds. Sierra leones descent into civil war stemmed from a combination of decades of. Sierra leone2 is in the midst of a civil war that began in 1991, when the revolutionary united front ruf invaded the country from neighboring liberia. 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 across the border in neighboring liberia. Like any war, the civil war in sierra leone was the result of a. Some claimed it as a case of successful humanitarian intervention. United nations mission in sierra leone unamsil brief. 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.
The difficulties in the country were compounded in march 1991 when conflict in neighbouring liberia spilled over the border into sierra leone. Sierra leone is no place to be young the new york times. 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. The uk has remained the most significant post conflict international donor and partner to the sierra leonean government. This report examines the causes and influences of intentional amputation perpetrated during the sierra leone civil war between 1991 and 2002. The underlying causes of fragility and instability in. Sierra leone caitriona dowd and clionadh raleigh this article describes patterns of conflict and violence in liberia and sierra leone from 1997 to 2011, a period that coincides with the onset of the second liberian civil war 19992003 and the second phase of the sierra leonean civil war 19992002. Rebels from the ongoing liberian civil war ignited the 19912001 sierra leone war. Since the end of the war, the government of sierra leone has undergone the arduous task of rebuilding the countrys physical and social infrastructure while fostering reconciliation. Our results are complementary to the other recent studies mentioned above, none of which examines institutional impacts. Until the middle of the civil war, the country also exported other minerals such as rutile, which were mined largely by multinational corporations a market the government has. Between 60,000 and 100,000 people are thought to have been killed over the course of the conflict, approximately 4,000 suffered.
Pdf the role of civil societies on youth empowerment in. Sierra leone during this period provide a multitude of lessons, both posi tive and negative, about attempts to deal with failed states. Rufs decadelong violence in sierra leone was marked by the murder, rape, and forced amputation of civilian victims and fueled by rebel control of sierra leone s diamond resources. The united kingdom began a military intervention in sierra leone on 7 may 2000 under the codename operation palliser. The sierra leone civil war sierra leone was ravaged by a civil war that started in 1991 and lasted until 2002. War 2004a, ibrahim abdullah says that the rebel war was a protracted and senseless war. Students will explore the use of child soldiers forced to fight the war in sierra leone. Unamsil was also instrumental in setting up the special court for sierra leone and it has monitored and trained sierra leoneans in human rights. Girls made up at least 25% of the rebels in sierra leone s civil war with typical sexual victimization being rampant as they were forced to service soldiers with sex williams 80. Pdf the sierra leone civil war and the remaking of ecowas. Sierra leone came to world attention in the 1990s when a catastrophic civil war linked to the diamond trade was reported globally. 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.
Sierra leone s civil war led to the deaths of over 50,000 people and left thousands of others mutilated, injured and impoverished. Pdf an examination of the sierra leone war researchgate. Since the end of the war, the government of sierra leone has undergone the arduous task of rebuilding the countrys physical and. 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. 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.
The issue of child soldiers in sierra leone defied gender boundaries with girls joining military drills and activities. 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. Weave vol 1 no 1 20 the sierra leone civil war and the remaking of ecowas ismail rashid vassar college ismail rashid, who grew up in freetown, sierra leone, is a professor of history at vassar college, where he has been teaching since 1998. Since then, governments efforts focused on i addressing the challenges of the transition from war to consolidating peace. We study the aftermath of the brutal 19912002 sierra. Sierra leone and child soldiers during the civil war research.
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 across the border in neighboring liberia. Combatants subsequently moved between them with ease. Throughout the years, the government mismanaged these natural resources which became a contributing factor to the sierra leone civil war 19912002. An examination of the sierra leone war academic journals. The conflict, which lasted from 1991 to 2002, was characterized by acts of extreme brutality and resulted in over 50,000 deaths and the displacement of. Internal conflict crippled the country from the late 1980s onward, culminating in a brutal civil war that took place from 1991 to 2002. The war began when rebels from the revolutionary united front ruf invaded sierra leone from the countrys eastern liberian border.
Resources and governance in sierra leones civil war taylor. War and local institutions in sierra leone university of california. Dissent politics and the war in sierra leone jstor. Findings show that persons disabled before schoolgoing age, those with multiple disabilities, girls, elderly children, the poorest, and those residing in.
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