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Sierra Leone History

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Photos and information is from www.cryfreetown.org. All rights are reserved to them, 2005.

Timeline | Brief History | Pre 1990s | 1990 to 1999 | Current Situation | SL Statistics | Stakeholders | Relevant Links

Current Situation

The deadline for disarmament was set for the 15th of December 1999. It passed with less than a quarter of the estimated 45 000 combatants turning up and surrendering their weapons at the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Rehabilitation (DDR) assembly points run by the United Nation's Peace Keepers.

Towards the end of January 2000 the West African states sponsoring the regional intervention force, ECOMOG, decided to maintain a substantial part of the force in the country until the United Nations Observer Mission to Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) is in position and suitably mandated to maintain the peace. The UN soldiers arrived in Freetown at the beginning of December 1999, but funding and transportation difficulties have delayed their complete deployment. Despite the cease-fire and amnesty, human rights organisations in Sierra Leone are still reporting atrocities and harassment in areas where rebel forces not participating in the DDR are still armed.

With the slow progress of the DDR programme, the rebel factions have not released the large numbers of abducted children thought to be held in their rural strongholds. An estimated 10 to 15 000 children between the ages of six and eighteen were kidnapped during the 8-year long war. Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working with the issue have managed to negotiate the release of small groups of these children - 400 being the latest group released by AFRC (Armed Forced Ruling Council) rebels in the Port Loko area at the end of January 2000.

Tense with political jockeying, the situation in Sierra Leone remains centred around its diamonds. On the 24th January, rebel leader Foday Sankoh (Revolutionary United Front), now Minister for Energy and Mineral affairs revoked all mining and trading licences and declared that anyone caught dealing in diamonds would be prosecuted. With a weak police force and almost non-existent judiciary, the threat is unlikely to be effective in curtailing the trade than any previous measures.

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Photos and information is from www.cryfreetown.org. All rights reserved to them, 2005.