Within the first year of the war, the RUF had already taken over a substantial amount of Sierra Leone’s territory. The RUF’s main goal was to overthrow the Momoh regime (Joseph Saidu Momoh was the President of Sierra Leone from November, 1985 to April 29, 1992), and to end economic exploitation. They planned to do this by disrupting the activities that funded the government, to undermine the military of Sierra Leone, and to gain international sympathy.
The Sierra Leone Army (SLA) was brutal and violent in their attempt to separate the civilians from the RUF rebels. They would often take civilians away from their homes if they suspected them to be RUF, and robbed and abused them. They came to the conclusion that it would be easier to simply team up with the RUF to gain power and money. This caused much of the population to have extremely low morale, and to join the rebel forces. This gained the SLA the nickname of “sobels” soldiers by day, rebels by night.
Within a year, the Momoh regime was overthrown. In March of 1993, with help from ECOMOG (Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group) troops, the SLA recaptured two districts in Sierra Leone, and pushed the RUF to the Sierra Leone – Liberia border. In 1995, Executive Outcomes (EO) was paid to force the RUF deep into Liberia. They were successful, and the RUF admitted defeat and signed the Abidjan Peace Accord, in Abidjin, C’ote d’Ivoire on November 30 1996. The war officially ended on January 18 2001, when the newly elected President announced it was so. Around 50 000 people were killed, and over half the population was displaced.
The Sierra Leone Army (SLA) was brutal and violent in their attempt to separate the civilians from the RUF rebels. They would often take civilians away from their homes if they suspected them to be RUF, and robbed and abused them. They came to the conclusion that it would be easier to simply team up with the RUF to gain power and money. This caused much of the population to have extremely low morale, and to join the rebel forces. This gained the SLA the nickname of “sobels” soldiers by day, rebels by night.
Within a year, the Momoh regime was overthrown. In March of 1993, with help from ECOMOG (Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group) troops, the SLA recaptured two districts in Sierra Leone, and pushed the RUF to the Sierra Leone – Liberia border. In 1995, Executive Outcomes (EO) was paid to force the RUF deep into Liberia. They were successful, and the RUF admitted defeat and signed the Abidjan Peace Accord, in Abidjin, C’ote d’Ivoire on November 30 1996. The war officially ended on January 18 2001, when the newly elected President announced it was so. Around 50 000 people were killed, and over half the population was displaced.
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