He goes further to say that sierra leone has had a long history of mass. The war was declared to have finished on 18 january 2002 officially. Hayward, a higher education specialist has described sierra leone as a pioneer of west african history. The name sierra leone dates back to 1462, when a portuguese explorer sailed down the coast of west africa. Siaka stevens remains in control for eighteen years by dismantling the countrys checks on the abuses of power. A political history by david harris examines 225 years of the countrys history and fifty years of independence, placing statesociety relations at the centre of this investigation of those who have tried to rule or change sierra leone. Since then, governments efforts focused on i addressing the challenges of the transition from war to consolidating peace. The two countries are linked by the history of slavery in the united states, an institution that would send a large number of african slaves from. 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. The long war series occasional paper 28 combat studies institute press us army combined arms center fort leavenworth, kansas. The sierra leone civil war 19912002 was a civil war in sierra leone that began on 23. History of sierra leones civil war hands for africa. Because of the history of the oneparty system, access to power was, and. The brutal civil war in neighbouring liberia played an undeniable role in the outbreak of fighting in sierra leone.
In 1982 there were three publishers in sierra leone, but 2002 there were no book publishers in sierra leone and only one bookshop, a church bookshop for in christian literary material. 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. Lome peace accord the peace agreement between the sierra leone government and the revolutionary united front of sierra leone to end the countrys eightyear civil war. Explain the reasons why sierra leone descended into civil war in 1991 2. Underlying grievances and the role of the revolutionary united front the root of the conflict is and remains diamonds, diamonds and diamonds. 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. It began in march 1991, as the revolutionary united front ruf. Students will have a limited time to explain what they would implement as leader. 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. Pdf an examination of the sierra leone war researchgate. The united states established diplomatic relations with sierra leone in 1961, following its independence from the united kingdom. Sierra leone has experienced substantial economic growth in recent years, although the ruinous effects of the civil war continue to be felt.
Fighting with a rebel movement, the revolutionary united front ruf, which had started in march 1991, escalated, and there were incursions from neighbouring liberia, the ruf in the south of the country being loosely in alliance with liberian rebels. Conflict profile sierra leone 1991 2001 the decadelong war in sierra leone began in 1991 as a revolt against a longstanding dictatorship. Diamonds, corruption and the lebanese connection by lansana gberie ours was not a civil war. United front sierra leone rufsl banner, and engaged the state in a civil w ar that lasted from 1991 to 2002. Ibrahim kamara 2000 to the economist, this is war motivated by greed. 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. Resources and governance in sierra leones civil war. The resulting civil war lasted 11 years, enveloped the country. Since the end of the war, the government of sierra leone has undergone the arduous task of rebuilding the countrys physical and. Some say the coastal regions looked like lions teeth. Although diamonds seemingly played a significant role in financing the war. Sierra leone civil war during which the revolutionary united.
It will be unfair to treat the sierra leone civil war as a mindless act of rebel. Archaeology findings show that sierra leone has been inhabited for thousands of years. The causes of the sierra leone civil war einternational relations. Our results are complementary to the other recent studies mentioned above, none of which examines institutional impacts. Sierra leone most recently was affected by the 2014 ebola outbreak, one of the worst widespread outbreaks of the virus in history. The sierra leone civil war was an armed conflict in the west african country of sierra leone from 1991 t0 2002. In january 2002, after the formal conclusion of a unsupervised disarmament, the sierra leone government announced that the countrys decadelong war was over. Charles taylor leader of the national patriotic front of liberia reportedly helped form the revolutionary united front ruf under the command of former sierra leonean army corporal foday sankoh, a critic of both the. Guinea, liberia and sierra leone, the tourism and hospitality industry of sierra leone has been negatively affected. The sierra leone civil war sierra leone was ravaged by a civil war that started in 1991 and lasted until 2002. Internal conflict crippled the country from the late 1980s onward, culminating in a brutal civil war that took place from 1991 to 2002. Sierra leone background visit sierra leone vsl travel. Traditional historiography has customarily presented it as a people by successive waves of invaders. The sierra leone civil war was the result of varied interactions between structural problems in sierra leone society which increased grievances among people and, accordingly, led to the emergence of the ruf.
The difficulties in the country were compounded in march 1991 when conflict in neighbouring liberia spilled over the border into sierra leone. Lenneke sprik finds that this read is useful for scholars and students with a specific. Civil war the 1991 multiparty constitution was not, however, implemented. A brief history of the war in sierra leone, 19912002. 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. Although sierra leone had a long history of publishing and consuming books, the civil war altered this position. From this point sierra leone declines into a long era of repressive rule, military coups and by the end of the century terrifying and violent anarchy.
In making its findings and preparing its report, the commission took into account information gathered through a variety of means. The underlying causes of fragility and instability in. Timeline world history documentaries 2,614,224 views. 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 peace agreement between the sierra leone government and the revolutionary united front of sierra leone to end the countrys eightyear civil war. United front sierra leone rufsl banner, and engaged the state in a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002. A brief history of liberia international center for. There were over 14,000 confirmed cases and nearly 4,000 lives lost in sierra leone. Among these, sierra leones civil war has been credited with varied narrations of conflicts. The culture is clearly an eclectic mix of both regional and international influences.
Sierra leone s literacy rate is only at 48% and the life expectancy at birth is less than 60 years. The modern history of sierra leone goes back to 1787, when the black poor, mostly former soldiers from the british army, settled on the northern. Sierra leone lion mountain was embroiled in a civil war that resulted in the death of over 50,000 civilians. Leonean civil war robert tynes, research director, project on violent. Sierra leone, as with most african countries, has a complicated history, characterized by colonization and civil war. Abuja ceasefire agreement text of the 30day ceasefire agreement between the government of sierra leone and the ruf. Some claimed it as a case of successful humanitarian intervention. Hence, sierra leone appears to provide support for both the governance and resource perspective on conflict. Civil war peace in liberia, if it ever really existed, was short lived. Pdf the trauma of war in sierra leone researchgate. Sierra leone united nations development programme undp. Sierra leone has been ravaged by a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002, and.
By the late 1990s it was clear from reports that taylor was supporting the revolutionary united front ruf in the civil war in neighboring sierra leone. Free slaves, freetown, and the sierra leonean civil war. The war was fueled by wealth from diamonds located in the east of the country, where the rebel united front ruf was strongest. Three peace accords were signed in 1996, 1997 and 1999 in abidjan, conakry and lame respectively. It was not a war based on ideology, religion or ethnicity, nor was it a class war it was a war of proxy aimed at permanent rebel control. The falklands war the untold story full documentary timeline duration. That said, since the end of the civil war, the people and the government have done a tremendous job of moving forward and rebuilding the country. Richards, 2011, sierra leone features a welldocumented checkered history in terms of corruption, unaccountable leadership, and policy making that is far from inclusive. The ceasefire agreement signed between the government of sierra leone and the ruf in lome, togo. An examination of the sierra leone war academic journals.
It entails the history of sierra leone from its days as a slave harbor through to its founding as a home for free slaves and toward its political independence and civil war. Two million were relocated and tens of thousands died in this 11 year war. From 1971 sierra leone is a republic with himself as executive president. When the state fails rectifies this, providing a comprehensive and critical analysis of the intervention. The journal of sierra leone studies volume 1 number 1 january. The trauma of war in sierra leone article pdf available. There seems some dispute whether it was the shape or climatic conditions that influenced pedro da cintra to come up with sierra lyoa meaning lion mountains. If greater efforts is not put place to eradicate the disease, 75% of employees of this industry will be out of job, dropped in revenue, arrivals, domestic tourism, occupancy rate and museum.
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