Sierra Leone Research Paper

Paul Bubon
1/18/16
Mrs. Tasch
Sierra Leone Research Paper

The causes and effects of the Sierra Leonean Civil War

The Sierra Leone Civil War was a very terrible conflict that involved genocide, political corruption, human trafficking for child soldiers, and many other methods of control. Sierra Leone is a poor nation in West Africa that is frequently victim to crime and disease. Despite being very rich in mineral resources, these are useless due to this history of corruption and crime, and foreign investors rarely do business here. The Civil War took place between 1991 and 2002, and as many as 300,000 died, and 2.5 million were displaced from their homes. [1]

The events leading up to the war started when Sierra Leone gained its independence …show more content…
Under Albert Margai’s premiership, the cycle of corruption, violence, crime, and poverty started and began to grow. Unlike his relative and predecessor, Albert Margai took advantage of his citizens, and saw the government as a service for himself, and not for the people that it rules over. He even threatened military action against enemy political parties. Albert Margai’s legacy of terrible leadership continued with his successor, Siaka …show more content…
British Harrier jets and other Commonwealth of Nations militaries started to assist the government forces in eliminating the RUF and its allies. UN peacekeepers arrived and rescued thousands, including the author of my book, Ishmael Beah. Muammar Qaddafi, ex-dictator of Libya, donated thousands of troops, jets and weapons for use by the RUF. Russian businessman Viktor Bout also supplied thousands of Heckler & Koch G3s, AK47s, Type 56s, and AKM rifles to the RUF,[4] for which he was arrested in 2008 by the CIA and FBI. However, beyond this, the United States’ response was minimal. The war finally ended in 2002, thanks to bombing raids on key escape routes of the RUF. President Kabbah, the president for most of the war, was re-elected for another 5 years. The conflict was largely resolved due to foreign help, from countries like the UK, India, Guinea, and the UN coalition

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