Sierra+Leone+Civil+War

media type="custom" key="4877935" width="100" height="84" align="left"The Sierra Leonean Civil War

In 1985,a military leader, Joseph Momoh, was installed as president. One major opposition group consisted of students such as Foday Sankoh, Abu Ahmed Kanu, and Rashid Mansaray. They were eventually expelled from the country. In 1991, the RUF (revolutionary united front) led by Fodah Sankoh, began attacking Sierra Leonian villages in Eastern Sierra Leone by the Liberian border. The RUF's signature terror tactic was physical mutilation. An estimated 20,000 civilians suffered amputation with machetes and axes being used to sever arms, legs, lips, and ears. Fighting continued in the ensuing months, with the RUF gaining control of the diamond mines in the Kono District and pushing the Sierra Leone army back towards Freetown. RUF members would often destroy villages and kill most of the civilians except a few men and boys aging anywhere from 7 to around 40. They would kill anyone that tried to escape. Other civilians were mutilated and sent to neighboring villages as a warning. They would sometimes take a few civilians as hostages to stop the military from attacking them. After the rebels ran out of supplies in a village, they would often burn it and kill whoever remained.