Sierra Leone

=== Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002) and the NPRC regime (1992–1996) ===

{{Further|Sierra Leone Civil War}}The brutal civil war significantly impacted Sierra Leone, with internal and external factors contributing to widespread violence. International interventions, notably by the United Kingdom and the United Nations, were crucial in restoring peace.[[File: School destroyed by Sierra Leone Civil War.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A school in [[Koindu]] destroyed during the [[Sierra Leone Civil War|Civil War]]; in total 1,270 primary schools were destroyed in the War.<ref name="ilab"/>]]

In October 1990, owing to mounting pressure from both within and outside the country for political and economic reforms, president Momoh set up a constitutional review commission to assess the 1978 one-party constitution. Based on the commission's recommendations, a constitution re-establishing a multi-party system was approved by the exclusive APC Parliament by a 60% majority vote, becoming effective on 1 October 1991. There was great suspicion that President Momoh was not serious about his promise of political reform, as APC rule continued to be increasingly marked by abuses of power.

The brutal civil war that was going on in neighbouring [[Liberia]] played a significant role in the outbreak of fighting in Sierra Leone. [[Charles Taylor (Liberia)|Charles Taylor]] – then leader of the [[National Patriotic Front of Liberia]] – reportedly helped form the [[Revolutionary United Front|Revolutionary United Front (RUF)]] under the command of former Sierra Leonean army [[corporal]] [[Foday Sankoh|Foday Saybana Sankoh]], an ethnic Temne from [[Tonkolili District]] in Northern Sierra Leone. Sankoh was a British trained former army corporal who had also undergone guerrilla training in Libya. Taylor's aim was for the RUF to attack the bases of Nigerian dominated peacekeeping troops in Sierra Leone who were opposed to his rebel movement in Liberia.

On 29 April 1992, a group of young soldiers in the Sierra Leone Army, led by seven army officers—Lieutenant Sahr Sandy, Captain Valentine Strasser, [[Solomon Musa|Lieutenant Solomon "SAJ" Musa]], Captain [[Komba Mondeh]], Lieutenant [[Tom Nyuma]], Captain Julius Maada Bio and Captain Komba Kambo<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.sl/drwebsite/exec/view.cgi?archive=2&num=106 |title=NPRC's Komba Kambo Speaks After Eleven Years Of Silence!: Sierra Leone News |first= Sayoh|last= Kamara|work=Awareness Times|publisher=News.sl |date=27 July 2005|access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222185702/http://news.sl/drwebsite/exec/view.cgi?archive=2&num=106 |archive-date=22 February 2014}}</ref>—staged a [[military coup]] that sent president Momoh into [[exile]] in Guinea, and the young soldiers established the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC), with 25-year-old Captain Valentine Strasser as its chairman and Head of State of the country.<ref name="blogspot1">{{cite web|url=http://salonenow.blogspot.com/2011/08/attempts-to-launder-maada-bios-battered.html#!/2011/08/attempts-to-launder-maada-bios-battered.html |title=SIERRA LEONE NOW: Attempts To Launder Maada Bio's Battered Image Fail... We Were Not Supreme Council Members – Civilians In NPRC Deny Involvement In Atrocities |publisher=Salonenow.blogspot.com |access-date=20 March 2014}}</ref> The NPRC junta immediately suspended the constitution, banned all political parties, limited [[freedom of speech]] and [[freedom of the press]] and enacted a rule-by-decree policy, in which soldiers were granted unlimited powers of administrative detention without charge or trial, and challenges against such detentions in court were precluded.

SAJ Musa, a childhood friend of Strasser, became the deputy chairman and deputy leader of the NPRC government. Strasser became the world's youngest Head of State when he seized power just three days after his 25th birthday. The NPRC junta established the National Supreme Council of State as the military highest command and final authority in all matters and was exclusively made up of the highest-ranking NPRC soldiers, including Strasser himself and the original soldiers who toppled President Momoh.<ref name="blogspot1"/>

One of the top-ranking soldiers in the NPRC junta, Lieutenant Sahr Sandy, a trusted ally of Strasser, was assassinated, allegedly by Major S.I.M. Turay, a key loyalist of ousted president Momoh. A heavily armed military manhunt was carried out across the country to find Lieutenant Sandy's killer. However, the main suspect, Major S.I.M. Turay, went into hiding and fled the country to Guinea, fearing for his life. Dozens of soldiers loyal to the ousted president Momoh were arrested, including Colonel Kahota M. Dumbuya and Major Yayah Turay. Lieutenant Sandy was given a [[state funeral]] and his funeral prayers service at the [[cathedral]] church in Freetown was attended by many high-ranking soldiers of the NPRC junta, including Strasser himself and NPRC deputy leader Sergeant Solomon Musa.

The NPRC junta maintained relations with ECOWAS and strengthened support for Sierra Leone-based ECOMOG troops fighting in the Liberian war. On 28 December 1992, an alleged coup attempt against the NPRC government of Strasser, aimed at freeing the detained Colonel Yahya Kanu, Colonel [[Kahota M.S. Dumbuya]] and former inspector general of police Bambay Kamara, was foiled. Several Junior army officers led by Sergeant Mohamed Lamin Bangura were identified as being behind the coup plot. The coup plot led to the execution of seventeen soldiers by [[firing squad]]. Some of those executed include Colonel Kahota Dumbuya, Major Yayah Kanu and Sergeant Mohamed Lamin Bangura. Several prominent members of the Momoh government who had been in detention at the Pa Demba Road prison, including former inspector general of police Bambay Kamara, were also executed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.standardtimespress.org/artman/publish/article_4699.shtml |title=Standard Times Press Sierra Leone's NPRC's Ruthlessness No Death Certificates For 29 Sierra Leoneans |publisher=Standardtimespress.org |date=23 June 2010 |access-date=20 May 2012 |archive-date=4 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904020215/http://www.standardtimespress.org/artman/publish/article_4699.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 5 July 1994 SAJ Musa, who was popular among the general population, particularly in Freetown, was arrested and sent into exile after he was accused of planning a coup to topple Strasser, an accusation SAJ Musa denied. Strasser replaced Musa as deputy NPRC chairman with Captain Bio, who was instantly promoted by Strasser to [[brigadier]].

The NPRC's efforts proved to be nearly as ineffective as the ousted Momoh administration in repelling the RUF rebels. More and more of the country fell into the hands of RUF fighters, and by 1994 they had gained control of much of the diamond-rich Eastern Province and were getting close to the capital Freetown. In response, the NPRC hired the services of [[South Africa]]n-based [[private military contractor]] [[Executive Outcomes]] for several hundred mercenary fighters in order to strengthen the response to the advances of the RUF rebels. Within a month they had driven RUF fighters back to enclaves along Sierra Leone's borders and cleared the RUF from the Kono diamond-producing areas of Sierra Leone.

With Strasser's two most senior NPRC allies and commanders Lieutenant Sahr Sandy and Lieutenant [[Solomon Musa]] no longer around to defend him, Strasser's leadership within the NPRC's Supreme Council of State became fragile. On 16 January 1996, after about four years in power, Strasser was arrested in a palace coup staged by his fellow NPRC soldiers led by Brigadier Bio at the Defence Headquarters in Freetown.<ref name="FSL Vol 2 No 1">{{cite web |url=http://www.focus-on-sierra-leone.co.uk/Vol2_1.htm |title=FSL Vol 2 No 1 |publisher=Focus-on-sierra-leone.co.uk |access-date=23 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928012312/http://www.focus-on-sierra-leone.co.uk/Vol2_1.htm |archive-date=28 September 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Strasser was immediately flown into exile in a [[military helicopter]] to [[Conakry]], [[Guinea]]. In his first public broadcast to the nation following the 1996 coup, Brigadier Bio stated that his support for returning Sierra Leone to a democratically elected civilian government and his commitment to ending the civil war were his motivations for the coup.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/How+Sierra+Leone+fell+into+the+hands+of+young+soldiers.-a0254314002 |title=How Sierra Leone fell into the hands of young soldiers|publisher=Thefreelibrary.com |access-date=20 May 2012}}</ref>

==== Kabbah's tenure: government, "dawn of a new republic", the AFRC and end of the Civil War (1996–2007) ====
Promises of a return to civilian rule were fulfilled by Bio. Prior to conducting the election, Sierra Leoneans and international stakeholders were involved in a major debate on whether the nation should focus on trying to end the long running civil war, or to conduct elections and hence returning governance back to a civilian-led administration with a multi-party system of parliament that would provide the foundation for long-lasting peace and national prosperity. Following the 1995 National Consultative Conference at the Bintumani Hotel in Freetown, dubbed "Bintumani I", which was a Strasser-led initiative, another National Consultative Conference at the same Bintumani Hotel in Freetown, dubbed "Bintumani II", was initiated by the Bio administration that involved both national and international stakeholders, in an effort to find a viable solution to the issues plaguing the country.<ref name="Kandeh">Kandeh, J. D. (September, 1998), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/524828 "Transition without Rupture: Sierra Leone's Transfer Election of 1996"]. ''[[African Studies Review]]''
Flight. 41, No. 2 (September 1998), pp. 91–111. [[Cambridge University Press]]. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/524828 Archived]. Retrieved October 25, 2021.</ref> "''Peace before Elections vs Elections before Peace''" became a key debate topic and this quickly became a point of national discussion. The discussions eventually concluded with key stakeholders, including Bio's administration and the UN, agreeing that while efforts in finding a peaceful solution to ending the war should continue, a general election should be held as soon as possible.<ref name="Kandeh" /> Bio handed power over to Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of the SLPP, after the conclusion of elections in early 1996 which Kabbah won. President Kabbah took power with a great promise of ending the civil war. After taking over, President Kabbah immediately opened [[dialogue]] with the RUF and invited their leader Foday Sankoh for peace negotiations.<ref name="University">University of Central Arkansas. [https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/sierra-leone-1961-present/ 41. Sierra Leone (1961-Present)]. [https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/sierra-leone-1961-present/ Archived]. Retrieved 22 October 2021.</ref>

On 25 May 1997, 17 soldiers in the Sierra Leone army led by Corporal Tamba Gborie, loyal to the detained Major [[Johnny Paul Koroma]], launched a military coup which sent President Kabbah into exile in Guinea and they established the [[Armed Forces Revolutionary Council]] (AFRC). Corporal Gborie quickly went to the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Services headquarters in New England, Freetown to announce the coup to a shocked nation and to alert all soldiers across the country to report for guard duty. The soldiers immediately released Koroma from prison and installed him as their chairman and Head of State.

Koroma suspended the constitution, banned demonstrations, shut down all private radio stations in the country and invited the RUF to join the new junta government, with its leader Foday Sankoh as the Vice-Chairman of the new AFRC-RUF coalition junta government. Within days, Freetown was overwhelmed by the presence of the RUF combatants who came to the city in thousands. The Kamajors, a group of traditional fighters mostly from the Mende ethnic group under the command of deputy [[Defence Minister]] [[Samuel Hinga Norman]], remained loyal to President Kabbah and defended the Southern part of Sierra Leone from the soldiers.

After nine months in office, the junta was overthrown by the Nigerian-led [[ECOMOG]] forces, and the democratically elected government of president Kabbah was reinstated in February 1998. On 19 October 1998, 24 soldiers in the Sierra Leone army—including Gborie, Brigadier Hassan Karim Conteh, Colonel Samuel Francis Koroma, Major Kula Samba and Colonel Abdul Karim Sesay—were executed by firing squad after they were convicted in a [[court martial]] in Freetown, some for orchestrating the 1997 coup that overthrew President Kabbah and others for failure to reverse the mutiny.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr51/019/1998/en/|title= Campaigns {{!}} Sierra Leone: Imminent execution / death penalty / legal concern |publisher=Amnesty International|website= Amnesty.org |date= 11 October 1998|access-date= 26 February 2013}}</ref>

In October 1999, the United Nations agreed to send [[peacekeeping|peacekeepers]] to help restore order and disarm the rebels. The first of the 6,000-member force began arriving in December, and the [[UN Security Council]] voted in February 2000 to increase the force to 11,000, and later to 13,000. But in May, when nearly all [[Nigeria]]n forces had left and UN forces were trying to disarm the RUF in eastern Sierra Leone, [[Foday Sankoh|Sankoh]]'s forces clashed with the UN troops, and some 500 peacekeepers were taken [[hostage]] as the peace accord effectively collapsed. The hostage crisis resulted in more fighting between the RUF and the government as UN troops launched [[Operation Khukri]] to end the siege. The Operation was successful with Indian and British [[Special Forces]] being the main contingents.

The situation in the country deteriorated to such an extent that British troops were deployed in [[Operation Palliser]], originally simply to evacuate foreign nationals. However, the British exceeded their original mandate and took full military action to finally defeat the rebels and restore order. The British were the catalyst for the ceasefire that ended the civil war. Elements of the [[British Army]], together with administrators and politicians, remained after withdrawal to help train the armed forces, improve the infrastructure of the country and administer financial and material aid. [[Tony Blair]], the Prime Minister of Britain at the time of the British intervention, is regarded as a hero by the people of Sierra Leone, many of whom are keen for more British involvement.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Alex|last= Renton|date=2010-04-17|title=Sierra Leone: one place where Tony Blair remains an unquestioned hero|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/18/sierra-leone-international-aid-blair|access-date=2021-02-08|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

Between 1991 and 2001, about [[List of wars by death toll|50,000 people were killed]] in Sierra Leone's civil war. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced from their homes and many became refugees in [[Guinea]] and [[Liberia]]. In 2001, UN forces moved into rebel-held areas and began to disarm rebel soldiers. By January 2002, the war was declared over. In May 2002, [[Ahmad Tejan Kabbah|Kabbah]] was re-elected president by a landslide. By 2004, the disarmament process was complete. Also in 2004, a UN-backed [[war crime]]s court began holding trials of senior leaders from both sides of the war. In December 2005, UN peacekeeping forces pulled out of Sierra Leone.