FREE ESSAY ON A CIVIL WAR

A CIVIL WAR

A civil war that has raged for seven years in the small West African country of Sierra
Leone has turned increasingly brutal. (1, p.1) Rebels are mutilating civilians without
much response from the international community. A strong Nigerian contingency has tried
to suppress the rebellion, but the rebels continue to cause major trouble in Sierra
Leone. The rebels overthrew President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. However, President Kabbah
returned to office on March 10, 1998 to face the task of restoring order to a demoralized
population and a disorganized and severely damaged economy. (2, p.1)
The country of Sierra Leone is located in western Africa between the countries of Guinea
and Liberia, and it borders the North Atlantic Ocean. The actual area of Sierra Leone is
slightly smaller than the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population of Sierra Leone is
about 5,080,000 people. Its legal system is based on English law and customary laws
indigenous to local tribes. Sierra Leone's government consists of three branches, the
executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch.
President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was inaugurated March 29, 1996, and President Kabbah is both
the chief of state and the head of government. The president's tenure of office is
limited to two five-year terms.
On May 25, 1997, disgruntled army personnel under the command of Major Johnny Paul Koroma
overthrew the democratically elected government of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. (2, p.1)
After President Kabbah was overthrown, he fled to exile in the neighboring country of
Guinea. In Guinea, President Kabbah remained in the city of Conakry. The coup leader, a
relatively unknown army major named Johnny Paul Koroma, declared himself the new head of
state and invited fellow rebel leader Foday Sankoh to join the government. (3, p.1)
During the rebel invasion, the rebels seized the legislature, burned the national
treasury, and raided the capital of Freetown. Once the coup was in control of the
capital, the leaders imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew and closed the country's borders. The
coup also shut down the Lungi International Airport, which was under the control of
troops belonging to the West African peacekeeping force ECOMOG. 
The coup began the invasion Sunday, when about 20 heavily armed men stormed Freetown's
maximum security prison and freed an estimated 600 inmates. Some of the inmates included
soldiers jailed for plotting against President Kabbah. 
The rebels took over the national assembly after fighting with Nigerian troops near the
presidential office complex in Freetown. The Nigerian troops were stationed in the
capital to help defend the civilian government against rebels. (3, p2)
Stray fire, including rocket-propelled grenades and mortar, hit the U.S. Embassy, about
200 yards from the national assembly building. The embassy suffered damage but there were
no reports of injuries. Hospital officials reported that five civilians were killed
elsewhere in the capital as gun battles raged most of the day. (3, p.2) From reports
given by the U.S. State Department, two Americans were injured when their home was
looted.
A coup spokesman accused the government of introducing tribalism, and reportedly called
for the return to Sierra Leone of Foday Sankoh, a leader of the rebel Revolutionary
United Front, and Capt. Solomon Musa, a former deputy military leader linked to coup
allegations in 1993. The coup spokesman then reported that the army had seized parliament
and the government offices, as well as the radio and television stations. He said that a
new government would be announced at the end of the day. (4, p.2)
Mutinous soldiers who ousted the Sierra Leone's civilian government scrapped the
constitution and banned political parties. But the mutineers promised that the tiny West
African nation would someday return to a proper democracy. (5, p.1) After the denouncing
of Sierra Leone's constitution, the American warship USS Kearsarge set sail toward the
coast of Sierra Leone in case an evacuation of the estimated 400 U.S. citizens in
Freetown was needed.
The mutinous Sierra Leone soldiers then attempted to expand their control of the country
by commanding the country's diamond region. While attempting to gain control over the
precious diamond area of Sierra Leone, the rebels skirmished with a militia loyal to
deposed President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. During the continued fighting, many non-Sierra
Leoneans residents took refuge in beachside hotels until they could get a flight of the
country. The residents were flown across a wide river estuary to Lungi airport by
helicopter. The Sierra Leone faction held one end of the airport, but the Nigerians were
able to gain back the opposite end of the airport. A confrontation at the airport erupted
as a shot was fired by one of the Sierra Leone soldiers as 392 evacuees were boarding a
Boeing 747. (6, p.2) The Nigerians did receive support as a Nigerian C-130 Hercules
landed with troops and supplies.
Soon after their confrontation with the Nigerian forces, the mutineers announced that
they had joined forces with the Revolutionary United Front. The Revolutionary United
Front had waged a five-year war against the government. The leaders of the Revolutionary
United Front (RUF) took command and assigned Koroma to a secondary role. Koroma had lost
power to Foday Sankoh, leader of the RUF.
With the use of 15 U.S. military helicopters, about 900 Americans and citizens of other
countries were airlifted to the deck of the USS Kearsarge, which was about 12 miles
offshore. In scenes reminiscent of the U.S. evacuation of Saigon more than 20 years ago,
the evacuation was one of bedlam and near-hysteria. (7, p.3) After the last people were
airlifted from the U.S. Embassy, the place was stripped and looted of anything valuable.
The attempt to drive out the coup leaders continued with an increase in fighting. With
heavy shelling from Nigerian gunboats, Freetown was hit extremely hard. Nigeria, Ghana
and Guinea amassed many troops in Freetown and proved their willingness to use force to
eliminate the rebel force. The Nigerian forces gained full control over the Lungi airport
and began using it to bring in many reinforcements. Fighting was also heavy at the coup's
seafront headquarters and a nearby hotel where about 1,000 people from other West African
countries fled during the coup. An evacuation of the people near the hotel was completed
with the aid of U.S. troops. Shortly after the increased fighting in Freetown, Koroma
established a 20-member ruling council. Koroma appointed the rebel leader Foday Sankoh as
vice chairman. However, Sankoh's group opposed the council and the council talks broke
down before a final settlement of the 20-member council could be reached.
On June 8, 1997, members of Sierra Leone's dissolved parliament met in defiance of a ban
on political activity to denounce a 2-week-old military coup and called for the return of
ousted civilian president Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. (8, p.1) Fifty members of the 80-seat
parliament met in the capital of Freetown on June 8 where they unanimously approved a
resolution calling on the military rulers to restore the constitution.
Since seizing power, the Koroma brothers and their supporters in the ruling Armed Forces
Revolutionary Council had yet to bring stability to the capital. (8, p.2) Soldiers, many
of them rebel fighters who poured in from the bush after Koroma's coup, had marauded
Freetown and harassed civilians. Fear of the troops had kept many residents from
returning to work. (8, p.2)
The fighting in Sierra Leone continued through the entire year of 1997 to 1998. On
February 11, 1998, the fighting intensifies as artillery shells pound Freetown once
again. The eight-month political crisis turned into full-scale war in the small country
of Sierra Leone. Nigerian-led troops backed by warplanes and heavy artillery were
battling to push Sierra Leone's unrecognized military leaders out of power and restore
power to President Kabbah. 
The fighting in Freetown had opened the door for roaming gangs, widespread hunger, and
the spread of diseases. The exposed and rotting corpses had brought on new problems
concerning diseases.
The Nigerian-led West African peacekeeping force slowly took back control of Freetown. On
March 10, 1998, ten months after the military coup force Kabbah from power, President
Ahmed Tejan Kabbah triumphantly returned to power in the battered city of Freetown in
Sierra Leone. President Kabbah was greeted with grand martial music and a 21-gun salute.
With President Kabbah back at the head of government, many people faced criminal charges
of collaborating with the coup. A former government minister and nine others were
sentenced to death for collaborating with the bloody 1997 coup. The sentences pronounced
in the High Court by Judge Bankole Rashid brought to 27 the number of civilians condemned
to death by hanging in connection with the May 1997 coup and its aftermath. (9, p.1)
Veteran politician Nancy Steele, 75, and two other women were among the 11 sentenced on
Wednesday. Twenty-four soldiers were executed in public by firing squad after conviction
by a court martial. Even with President Kabbah back in power, the violence and bloodshed
continued in Sierra Leone.
In late December of 1998, more than 1,000 troops of the Nigerian-led West African
peacekeeping force known as ECOMOG arrived in Freetown. Freetown was beginning to face a
renewed threat from rebel forces. ECOMOG reinstated President Kabbah in March, but the
intervention force had been embroiled in fighting with junta soldiers and their allies of
the rebel Revolutionary United Front. (9, p.2) On December 22, artillery and small-arms
fire were heard across the capital after a day of rebel attacks in the small neighboring
town of Waterloo. Waterloo, 18 miles east of Freetown, was the closest the rebels had
come to the capital, since President Kabbah was reinstated. ECOMOG troops raised security
in the capital and set up checkpoints on the roads leading to the city of Freetown. 
Rebel forces continue to fight ECOMOG troops in the capital city and advance throughout
the city streets. Sam Bockarie, a rebel general, makes a statement to the press claiming
that the rebels will once again seize control of Sierra Leone on New Year's Day. In
response to the threat, the Nigerian-led defense force flew reinforcements into Freetown
on December 28, 1998. About 1,000 Nigerian troops were flown in to join the defense team.
Defense coalition forces of about 14,000 soldiers were in the Freetown area. On January
1, 1999, the West African peacekeepers backed by Nigerian warplanes drove rebels from
Port Loko, which is about 35 miles northeast of Freetown.
The rebels persisted with the fighting. Eventually on January 6, 1999, thousandths of
people fled to the center of Freetown after a two-hour barrage on the outskirts of the
city. The rebels attacked from their mountain hideouts and captured the main government
office building and burned down the city's police station. With the rebels pushing their
assault to the center of Freetown, United Nations officials fled Sierra Leone's capital.
On January 7, President Kabbah stated that he and rebel leader Foday Sankoh had agreed to
an immediate cease-fire in the capital, Freetown. The peacekeepers did not fully trust
the rebels, and on January 7, President Kabbah and his family were flown out of Freetown.
The President and his family were moved to an ECOMOG military base near Freetown. The
fighting continued throughout Sierra Leone dispute the cease-fire agreement promised by
the rebel forces.
On January 14, the rebels again agreed to a conditional cease-fire in battles with a
Nigerian-led peacekeeping force. Two hard weeks of fighting has left the capital of
Freetown in complete ruins and caused a horrible humanitarian situation. Sam Bockarie is
the deputy to imprisoned Revolutionary United Front rebel leader Foday Sankoh. Sam
Bockarie warned that the fighting would continue if Sankoh was not released from prison
or if Nigerian warplanes continue to attack rebel-held towns in the northern region of
Sierra Leone. Sankoh was captured in late 1997 and was sentenced to death in October
1998. Dispute the plea, President Kabbah ruled out the possibility of Sankoh's release.
The rebels then continued the fight, which now is creating a famine due to the incredible
lack of food for the people of Freetown. ECOMOG forces boosted their resistance, and
finally drove the rebel forces into the surrounding hills. The rebels remained fighting
in the hills creating pockets of resistance against the ECOMOG.
A summit meeting was held on January 28 with several key West African leaders to discuss
the problem in Sierra Leone. The leaders decided to reverse their attempts of a military
solution and try to negotiate through talks with the rebel leaders. Officials in the
war-torn Sierra Leone said that at least 5,000 people were killed during the previous
recent weeks of fighting.
Sierra Leone's embattled President Kabbah appealed to his rebel foes on April 6 to join
talks on ending the West African country's long drawn conflict. (10, p.1) Kabbah told
delegates at a three-day national consultative conference in Freetown that their message
to the rebels must be that they halt their eight-year armed campaign. (10, p.1) Although
Kabbah had repeatedly voiced his readiness for talks, he has also maintained in public
statements that dialogue must go hand in hand with military pressure on the rebels. (10,
p.2)
The rebels on April 13 laid siege to Kabala, the only major northern town that had not
been hit by an offensive attack since the war began. The ECOMOG force repelled several
waves of attacks from the rebel forces. Kabala is the cattle capital of Sierra Leone and
the rebels cut off all food supply routes to and from the city. Kabala supplied about two
thirds of the meat consumed in Freetown, and with the supply routes cut, the shortage of
food in Freetown only will increase.
Following the three-day conference, peace activists demanded the government to pardon the
jailed guerilla leader, Sankoh. The activists want the rebels to form their own political
party. The peace activists are trying to establish a South African-style commission to
investigate atrocities, compensate victims and possibly grant amnesty to perpetrators. 
On April 17, Sierra Leone's jailed rebel leader Foday Sankoh had been transferred from
prison to United Nations custody ahead of his trip to Togo later for consultations with
his followers. (11, p.1) Sankoh was jailed while appealing against a death sentence for
treason and crimes against humanity. Sankoh's talks with his guerrilla commanders in the
northern Togolese town of Kara are seen as the most crucial step in efforts to end a
prolonged conflict in Sierra Leone. (11, p.1)
As of April 20, some of the latest developments in Sierra Leone include the peace talks
with rebel leader Foday Sankoh. The future of Sierra Leone is still up in the air. It
seems the history of Sierra Leone takes a 180-degree turn every other week. This makes it
hard to predict the events of Sierra Leone's future. Hopefully, the peace talks will move
forward and gain considerable progress. The Revolutionary United Front rebels are known
for extreme cruelty to the civilian population, including rape, murder, forcing children
to become fighters and chopping off arms and legs of villagers. The people responsible
for these atrocities must be brought to justice. ECOMOG personnel have also been accused
of crimes against humanity. Both sides must be investigated and punished equally. Sierra
Leone has a great possibility of a prosperous future. They have a great location and
natural resources. The future of Sierra Leone could be a great one. With the support of
the international community, Sierra Leone will hopefully someday join the global market
and prove to the world that man is capable of conquering great impediments and
obstacles.
Bibliography
REFERENCE:
1. Nilsson, Ingrid,Terror in Sierra Leone,USA Today, Thursday, February 11, 1999, p.
13A.
2. Sierra Leone Homepage, Sierra Leone, www.odci.gov/factbook, p. 1-8.
3. World News Story Page, Sierra Leone Rebel Declares Himself Head of State,
www.cnn.com/world, p. 1-4.
4. World News Story Page, Armed Men Stage Coup Attempt in Sierra Leone,
www.cnn.com/world, p. 1-4.
5. World News Story Page, Mutinous Soldiers Scrap Sierra Leone Constitution, www.cnn.com,
p. 1-3.
6. World News Story Page, Sierra Leone Closes Its Borders as Mutineers Seize Control,
www.cnn.com/world, p.1-5.
7. World News Story Page, Troops Reported Readying for a Strike into Sierra Leone, p.
1-5.
8. World News Story Page, Sierra Leone Parliament Defies Ban, Denounces Coup,
www.cnn.com, p. 1-4.
9. World News Story Page, Eleven Civilians Condemned to Die for 1997 Coup in Sierra
Leone, www.cnn.com, p. 1-4.
10. World News Story Page, S. Leone Leader Urges Rebels to Turn to Dialogue, www.cnn.com,
p. 1-3.
World News Story Page, Sierra Leone Rebel Leaders in U.N. Custody, www.cnn.com, p. 1-3.