Timeline Sierra Leone
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1787 British
settlers bought land from African tribal leaders in Sierra Leone and
used it as a haven for freed African slaves. The indigenous
community, dominated by the Mende, wiped out the first settlers. A
2nd group followed in 1792. The settlers intermarried but held
themselves aloof, monopolized power and discriminated against the
original population. In 2005 Simon Schama authored “Rough Crossings:
Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution.”
(SFC, 3/11/98, p.A10)(SFC, 2/14/98, p.A8)(WSJ,
5/31/00, p.A26)(Econ, 8/27/05, p.66)(MT, summer 2003, p.8)
1792 The British St. George’s
Bay Company transported a 2nd group of settlers to Freetown. This
included 1,196 Blacks from Nova Scotia, 500 Jamaicans and dozens of
rebellious slaves from other colonies.
(MT, summer 2003, p.8)
1807 After Britain outlawed the
slave trade people called “Recaptives,” those freed from slave
ships, were sent to join the settlers in Sierra Leone. The settlers
formed a new tribe called the Kri and created a language called
Krio.
(MT, summer 2003, p.8)
1820 Feb 6, The American
Colonization Society sent its 1st organized emigration of blacks
back to Africa from NY to Sierra Leone.
(AH, 2/05, p.17)
1839 Jun 27, The Spanish
coasting vessel La Amistad (The Friendship) set sail from Cuba to
Porta Prince with a load of African slaves. Cinque, originally
Senghbe, and over 50 other Africans had been kidnapped in Sierra
Leone and sold into slavery in Cuba. They were carried on a Spanish
ship, the Tecora, to Cuba. Cinque and 49 other slaves and 4 children
were placed on the ship La Amistad destined for Haiti. They
revolted, killed the captain, and ordered the crew back to Africa
but the ship sailed north and ran aground. It was captured by the US
Navy on August 26. A legal battle ensued in New London, Conn., that
went to the Supreme court where former Pres. John Quincy Adams
argued for their freedom and won. An 1855 novella by Herman
Melville, "Benito Cereno" looked at the rebellion through the eyes
of an American interloper. Barbara Chase-Ribaud later wrote "Echo of
Lions," a novel based on the Amistad. In 1996 Steven Spielberg
announced plans to direct a film based on the incident titled
"Amistad." The film was to be released in 1997. A 1997 opera
production, "Amistad," by Anthony Davis premiered in Chicago.
(http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/amistad/AMI_BCIN.HTM)(SFEC,10/26/97,
DB p.57)(USAT, 11/19/97, p.2D)(WSJ, 12/5/97, p.A16)(SFEC,12/797, DB
p.44)(SFC,12/26/97, p.C6)(HN, 6/28/99)
1841 Mar 9, The rebel slaves
who seized a Spanish slave ship, the Amistad, two years earlier were
freed by the US Supreme Court despite Spanish demands for
extradition. John Quincy Adams (74), former US president, defended
“the Mendi people,” a group of Africans who rebelled and killed the
crew aboard the slave ship Amistad, while en route to Cuba. They
faced mutiny charges upon landing in New York but Adams won their
acquittal before the Supreme Court. In thanks they bestowed to him
an 1838 English Bible. In 1996 the Bible was stolen from the Adams
National Historic Site in Quincy, Mass.
(WSJ, 1/3/97, p.A7)(HN, 3/9/99)
1841 Nov, Freed African
survivors of the slave ship Amistad returned to Sierra Leone,
Africa. Abolitionists had raised money to help the freed slaves of
the Amistad return home. When Cinque, the leader of the revolt,
reached home, he found that his family had been captured and sold
into slavery.
(http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/amistad/AMI_CHR.HTM)(SFEC,12/797,
DB p.44)
1879 Cinque, the leader of the
1839 Amistad revolt, died in Sierra Leone.
(http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/amistad/ami_bcin.htm)
1895 Dec 7, Sir Milton Margay,
first Prime Minister of Sierra Leone, was born.
(HN, 12/7/98)
1898 The imposition of a hut
tax sparked an indigenous rebellion in which many settlers were
killed. Britain declared a protectorate and assumed formal
administration until independence.
(WSJ, 5/31/00, p.A26)
1936 Graham Green (1904-1991),
English writer, authored “Journey Without Maps,” a travel account
about a 350-mile, 4-week walk through the interior of Liberia and
Sierra Leone in 1935.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Burnt-Out_Case)(Econ, 9/4/10, p.90)
1961 Apr 27, United Kingdom
granted Sierra Leone independence.
(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A9)(SFC, 3/11/98, p.A10)(HN,
4/27/98)
1968 Apr 26, In Sierra Leone
Pres. Siaka Stevens (1905-1988) re-assumed the post of prime
minister following brief military rule. He led a one-party socialist
state that was later described as a “17-year plague of locusts.”
(WSJ, 5/31/00, p.A26)(Econ, 8/4/07,
p.42)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siaka_Stevens)
1973 Oct 3, Sierra Leone’s
President Stevens engineered the creation of the Mano River Union,
an economic federation of Sierra Leone and Liberia. Guinea joined in
1980.
(http://tinyurl.com/58uymq)
1975 May 25, ECOWAS Treaty1 was
signed. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was
formed in Nigeria with 15 members that included: Benin, Burkina
Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone,
and Togo.
(www.sec.ecowas.int/sitecedeao/english/achievements.htm)
1980 Jul 1, Sierra Leone’s
President Stevens began serving as Chairman of the Organization of
African Unity (OAU) and continued until 24 June 1981.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siaka_Stevens)
1980 Guinea joined the Mano
River Union, an economic federation of Sierra Leone and Liberia
created in 1973. Due to conflicts involving the countries the
objectives of the Union could not be achieved. The union was
reactivated in 2004.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mano_River_Union)
1985 Oct 28, In Sierra Leone
Pres. Siaka Stevens retired from office at the end of his term.
After pressuring all other potential successors to step aside,
Major-General Joseph Saidu Momoh was sworn in as the new President
of the Republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siaka_Stevens)
1985-1992 Pres. Joseph Saidu Momoh presided over a
one-party state. In 1998 he was convicted of a 1997 conspiracy to
commit treason.
(SFC, 11/7/98, p.A14)
1991 RUF guerrillas including
Sam Bockerie invaded Sierra Leone from Liberia. Charles Taylor
formed the guerrillas in 1989.
(SFC, 5/7/03, p.A11)
1991 In Sierra Leone an 11-year
civil war began and by 1996 10,000 had been killed. Foday Sankoh’s
Revolutionary United Front began fighting the bush war. In 1998
Sankoh was charged with treason. By 2002 some 50-200 thousand people
were killed and a third of the country’s 6 million people were
forced to flee.
(WSJ, 5/7/96, p.A-1)(SFC, 6/6/97, p.E2)(SFC,
9/5/98, p.A12)(Econ, 6/2/07, p.48)
1992 In Sierra Leone Valentine
Strasser (25) took over rule in a coup, that toppled Pres. Joseph
Momoh, and became the world’s youngest head of state.
(WSJ, 1/17/96, p.A-1)(SFC, 2/21/98, p.A9)(SFC,
7/25/02, p.A16)
1992 ULIMO, The United Movement
of Liberia arose as a guerilla force to stop cooperation between
Sierra Leone’s rebel leader Foday Sankoh and Charles Taylor.
(SFC, 4/17/96, p.A-8)
1995 Sierra Leone hired a
private army to battle rebels.
(WSJ, 6/19/01, p.A1)
1996 Jan, Sierra Leone
Military ruler Valentine Strasser was ousted in a bloodless coup by
Brig. Julius Maada Bio, who immediately suspended elections set for
next month.
(WSJ, 1/17/96, p.A-1)(SFC, 7/25/02, p.A16)
1996 Feb, Ahmed Tejan Kabbah
was elected.
(SFC, 5/27/97, p.A12)
1996 Mar, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
was elected president. The vote ended the rule by military
government which announced a cease fire was with rebels after 5
years of civil war. Rebels chopped off the hands of the voters they
opposed.
(WSJ, 3/18/96, A-1)(WSJ, 5/14/02, p.A1)
1996 Apr 24, Sierra Leone
reached a truce with rebels after a five-year war and will seek a
permanent peace accord. The truce came after Ivory Coast talks
between the new civilian president and the rebel leader.
(WSJ, 4/24/96, A-1)
1996 May 7, Peace talks opened
in the Ivory Coast to resolve a civil war that has killed 10,000
people since 1991.
(WSJ, 5/7/96, p.A-1)
1996 Aug 26, Rebels killed 31
villagers and 7 soldiers in the eastern village of Foindu.
(SFC, 8/29/96, p.A14)
1996 Oct 20, In northern Sierra
Leone rebels killed 36 people including 6 patients at the Masanga
hospital.
(SFC, 10/21/96, p.A10)
1996 Nov 30, Pres. Ahmad Tejan
Kabbah and rebel leader Foday Sankoh signed a peace accord. Nearly 1
million displaced people had settled in camps around the capital,
Freetown. The accord failed to hold.
(SFC, 11/30/96, p.A13)(SFC, 6/6/97, p.E2)
1997 Jan 29, The UN World Food
Program announced a 6-month $19.4 million food aid operation.
(SFC, 1/30/97, p.A10)
1997 May 25, In Sierra Leone
rebellious soldiers seized power. Pres. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah fled to
Guinea. Exiled rebel leader Foday Sankoh, leader of the
Revolutionary Unite Front and held in a Nigerian jail, was invited
by Major Johnny Paul Koroma to join a new government. Some 15 people
were killed and 40 injured in the coup.
(SFEC, 5/26/97, p.A8)(SFC, 5/27/97, p.A12)
1997 Jun 2, Nigerian naval
vessels opened fire on Sierra Leone.
(SFC, 6/2/97, p.A8)
1997 Jun 3, Reinforcements from
a peace-keeping force in Liberia was sent in to help Nigerian troops
against the insurrectionist troops of Sierra Leone.
(SFC, 6/4/97, p.A10)
1997 Jun 4, The 53-nation
Organization of African Unity unanimously condemned the coup in
Sierra Leone. The 16-member Nigerian-led Economic Community of West
African states pledged not to tolerate military coups on the
continent a day after it approved the use of force to restore the
government of Sierra Leone.
(SFC, 6/5/97, p.C3)
1997 Jun 17, In Sierra Leone
Major Johnny Paul Koroma was sworn in as head of state and pledged
to work to restore democracy.
(SFC, 6/18/97, p.A10)
1997 Jul 1, Thailand let its
currency, the baht, float and it devalued about 20%. This event
marked the beginning of the Asian economic crises. In 1999 Thailand
sought to extradite Rakesh Saxena, a currency trader, from Canada
for his role in an alleged fraud that drained over $2 billion from
the Bangkok Bank of Commerce, which led to the devaluation of the
baht. Pin Chakkaphak was blamed for the collapse of the currency and
fled Asia. He was ordered back from Britain in 2001 to face
accounting and theft charges. In 2009 Saxena (57) arrived in
Thailand after his extradition from Canada to face charges he
embezzled $88 million from the Bangkok Bank of Commerce, which
collapsed in 1995. Saxena was also implicated in backing the
attempted 1997 coup in Sierra Leone.
(SFC, 7/3/97, p.D4)(WSJ, 7/21/97, p.A1)(SFEC,
5/31/98, p.D1)(WSJ, 5/7/99, p.A1)(SFC, 3/9/01, p.A16)(Econ, 3/25/06,
p.80)(AP, 10/30/09)(Econ, 11/7/09, p.42)
1997 Jul 18, Leaders of the
ruling junta pledged to implement an immediate cease fire and to
restore constitutional government.
(SFC, 7/19/97, p.A11)
1997 Jul 30, Major Johnny
Komora announced that elections for civilian rule would be held in
Nov of 2001.
(SFC, 8/1/97, p.A16)
1997 Sep 8, In Liberia some
200,000 refugees from Sierra Leone had spilled over from escalating
violence.
(WSJ, 9/9/97, p.A1)
1997 Oct 8, The UN imposed
sanctions on Sierra Leone to pressure for the restoration of
civilian government.
(SFC, 10/9/97, p.C3)
1997 Oct 19, At least 70 people
fleeing air raids in Freetown were killed when their truck
overturned. Nigerian jets were bombing the city and at least 10,000
people had already fled.
(SFC,10/20/97, p.A9)
1997 Dec 15, At least 60 people
died in a canoe mishap on the Manor River near the Liberian border
while fleeing renewed violence.
(SFC,12/16/97, p.B2)
1998 Jan 27, In Sierra Leone
fighting broke out between junta troops and Nigerian peacekeepers
trying to restore Pres. Kabbah.
(WSJ, 1/28/98, p.A1)
1998 Feb 5, In Sierra Leone
fighting began as Nigerian led intervention forces moved to oust the
military junta.
(SFC, 2/12/98, p.A12)(SFC, 2/13/98, p.D5)
1998 Feb 8, A jet belonging to
West African peacekeepers fired on a tank with a mounted
anti-aircraft gun in Freetown and killed 6 people. Nigerian led
peacekeepers were moving toward Freetown in an effort to drive the
military junta from power.
(SFC, 2/9/98, p.A12)
1998 Feb 12, In Sierra Leone
the Nigerian led intervention force captured the country’s State
House in Freetown.
(SFC, 2/13/98, p.D5)
1998 Feb 13, Freetown fell to
Nigerian led forces. Two helicopter gunships with some 50 senior
members of the military junta were captured near Monrovia.
(SFC, 2/14/98, p.A8)
1998 Feb 17, In Sierra Leone 7
Western relief workers were reported kidnapped.
(SFC, 2/18/98, p.C3)
1998 Feb 20, Former pres.
Joseph Momoh was caught while trying to escape the capital under
disguise as a woman. He was alleged to be a close advisor to the
junta that ousted Pres. Kabbah.
(SFC, 2/21/98, p.A9)
1998 Feb 25, Bo was captured by
Nigerian-led peacekeeping troops. The city was reported badly
damaged with many dead.
(WSJ, 2/26/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar, Ahmed Kabbah was
restored to power with the help of a Nigerian-led African force that
ousted the military junta. In May it was reported that Sandline
Int’l. was paid $10 million on behalf of Kabbah to arm and train a
force to return him to power. Peter Penfield, the British
ambassador, coordinated the operation. The planeloads of weaponry
that were brought were in direct violation of a UN arms embargo on
Sierra Leone. The US was reportedly kept informed of the entire
operation.
(SFC, 5/13/98, p.A11)
1998 May 29, Defeated rebels
were conducting a campaign of terror in the countryside and hundreds
have been killed since the rebels were driven from the cities in
March.
(WSJ, 5/29/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 3, It was reported
that 243,000 refugees had fled to camps in Liberia and Guinea in
terror of the ousted junta’s loyalists.
(WSJ, 6/3/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 29, A report called
“Sowing Terror” was published that documented the violence of the
Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and the Revolutionary United
Front. The rebel campaign code-named “No Living Thing” maimed
civilians and sent them as messengers to the government of Pres.
Ahmad Kabbah. Rebel leader Foday Sankoh was turned over by Nigeria
to face charges in Sierra Leone.
(SFC, 7/30/98, p.A12,14)
1998 Aug 24, A jury found 16
people, including 5 journalists, guilty of collaborating with the
ousted military junta.
(SFC, 8/25/98, p.A8)
1998 Sep 24, In Sierra Leone
troops from the ECOMOG peacekeeping force killed at least 50
traditional Kapra hunters after the hunters opened fire on them. The
hunters claimed to have mistaken the troops for rebels.
(SFC, 9/28/98, p.A10)
1998 Oct 12, In Sierra Leone a
military court condemned 34 officers to death for their
participation in a 1997 coup.
(SFC, 10/13/98, p.A11)
1998 Oct 19, In Sierra Leone a
firing squad executed 24 soldiers for taking part in the May, 1997,
coup.
(SFC, 10/20/98, p.C12)
1998 Nov 4, Former Pres. Joseph
Saidu Momoh was convicted of conspiracy to commit treason in the May
1997 coup.
(SFC, 11/7/98, p.A14)
1998 Nov 15, Rebels attacked a
village on the northern border and killed 16 people with guns and
machetes. Another 50 were abducted.
(SFC, 11/16/98, p.A13)
1998 Dec 6, In Sierra Leone at
least 51 rebels were killed in fierce fighting north of Freetown.
(WSJ, 12/9/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 8, It was reported
that Chief Samuel Hinga Norman, the deputy minister of defense, had
founded a cult-based militia, the Kamajors, to help fight the
rebels.
(SFC, 12/8/98, p.A12,16)
1998 Dec 13, As many as 200
died in weekend battles 35 miles from the capital. The Nigerian-led
military said that a large force of rebels had been cut off and
annihilated.
(WSJ, 12/15/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 19, In Sierra Leone
rebels overran the eastern diamond city of Koidu and many were
killed.
(WSJ, 12/21/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 25, In Sierra Leone
Sam Bockarie of the Revolutionary United Front said that his rebels
would march into Freetown on New Year's Day unless the government
agreed to terms that included the release of Foday Sankoh. Rebels
had captured Makeni and were battling for Kenema.
(SFC, 12/26/98, p.A14)
1998 Dec 26, In Sierra Leone
residents in Freetown burned alive 2 suspected rebel spies. The
rebel United Front reported that it had killed 60 Nigerian soldiers
of ECOMOG. Defenses in Freetown were bolstered by Kamajor militia.
(SFEC, 12/27/98, p.A23)
1998 Dec 27, In Sierra Leone
Nigerian jets killed some 50 rebels in Makeni and ECOMOG forces took
control following fierce fighting.
(SFC, 12/28/98, p.B1)
1998 Johnny Paul Koromo, the
junta leader, was run out of Freetown by a Nigerian led intervention
force.
(SFEC, 6/4/00, p.C15)
1998 Foday Sankoh was sentenced
to death for treason.
(SFC, 10/4/99, p.A16)
1999 Jan 4, In Sierra Leone
Nigerian troops repelled a rebel attack on Freetown's airport.
Gambia and Mali agreed to send troops to join the Nigerian forces.
(WSJ, 1/5/99, p.A1)
1999 Jan 6, In Sierra Leone
rebels shot their way into Freetown and captured the presidential
state house.
(SFC, 1/7/99, p.A8)
1999 Jan 7, In Sierra Leone
rebels rampaged through Freetown as Pres. Kabbah announced an
agreement with jailed rival leader, Foday Sankoh, for a cease-fire.
(SFC, 1/8/99, p.A13)
1999 Jan 8, In Sierra Leone Sam
Bockarie of the rebel army rejected a cease-fire and pushed to the
western parts of Freetown.
(SFC, 1/9/99, p.A9)
1999 Jan 10, In Sierra Leone
Myles Tierney (34), an AP TV producer, was killed in Freetown by a
rebel fighter. AP journalist Ian Stewart was wounded. In 2002
Stewart authored “Ambushed: A War Reporter's Life on the Line.”
(SFC, 1/11/99, p.A10)(SSFC, 11/30/02, p.M3)
1999 Jan 14, In Sierra Leone
the rebel alliance was prepared for a cease-fire after Nigerian led
forces took control of Freetown.
(SFC, 1/15/99, p.A15)
1999 Jan 21, In Sierra Leone
the rebels were killing and mutilating civilians as they fell back
before Nigerian led troops.
(WSJ, 1/22/99, p.A1)
1999 Jan 25, A mortuary worker
reported that at least 2,000 men, women and children were killed in
Freetown.
(SFC, 2/12/99, p.A8)
1999 Jan 31, In Sierra Leone
rebels freed 11 Indian nationals abducted a week ago. The government
said that as many as 3,000-5000 people died during the fighting in
Freetown. The number of dead was raised to 6,350.
(WSJ, 2/1/99, p.A1)(SFC, 2/12/99, p.A8)(SFC,
3/26/99, p.A14)
1999 Jan, The RUF assault on
Freetown was dubbed “Operation No Living Things.” Over 4,500
children under 18, close to 60% girls, were reported missing from
Freetown following the rebel invasion.
(SFC, 6/28/00, p.A12)(SFC, 7/22/01, p.A12)
1999 Feb 3, A boatload of
refugees from Sierra Leone sank near Guinea and 50 people were
killed.
(WSJ, 2/4/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 2, In Sierra Leone the
Kamajors militia won the battle for Moyamba after 6 days of heavy
fighting. They reported that 200 rebels were killed.
(SFC, 3/3/99, p.A10)
1999 Mar 9, A Sierra Leone
rebel leader made a radio appeal to his followers for a cease-fire
and peace talks.
(WSJ, 3/10/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 10, Rebels rejected a
cease fire plea by their jailed leader.
(WSJ, 3/11/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 22, In Sierra Leone at
least 150 people drowned when an overloaded motorized canoe capsized
near Tasso.
(SFC, 3/26/99, p.A14)
1999 Apr 6, In Sierra Leone
rebels ambushed 2 passenger boats on the Mabang River and 60 people
were killed.
(SFC, 4/7/99, p.C12)
1999 Apr 16, Rebel troops fled
Songo and killed over 100 men, women and children as the ECOMOG West
African and loyalist militia entered the town.
(SFC, 4/22/99, p.D12)
1999 Apr 26, Foday Sankoh,
Sierra Leone rebel leader, offered a cease-fire following a meeting
with his commanders in Togo.
(SFC, 4/27/99, p.A10)
1999 May 18, In Sierra Leone
the government and the rebels agreed to a cease-fire to begin next
week along with peace talks.
(SFC, 5/19/99, p.A12)
1999 Jun 3, From Sierra Leone a
new wave of mutilations was reported by Doctors Without Borders.
(SFC, 6/3/99, p.C3)
1999 Jun 30, In Sierra Leone
the rebel movement accepted a government offer of power-sharing and
a peace accord.
(SFC, 7/1/99, p.A14)
1999 Jul 7, Pres. Ahmed Tejan
Kabbah of Sierra Leone signed a peace accord, the Lome Accord, with
rebel leader Foday Sankoh in Togo. Sankoh was given the
vice-presidency and the rebels were promised 4 ministerial and 4
deputy ministerial posts.
(SFC, 7/8/99, p.A8)
1999 Aug 5, In Sierra Leone
former RUF soldiers kidnapped over 2 dozen UN military observers,
aid workers and journalists at Okra Hills during a meeting for a
hostage handover.
(SFC, 8/6/99, p.A18)
1999 Aug 8, In Sierra Leone
rebels freed at least 19 of 35 captives taken on Aug 5.
(SFC, 8/9/99, p.A10)
1999 Aug 10, In Sierra Leone
rebels released the remaining hostages along with 200 civilians
taken prisoner earlier.
(SFC, 8/11/99, p.A10)
1999 Aug 20, It was reported
that tens thousands of refugees from Sierra Leone had fled to
northern Liberia and that many were robbed and killed by retreating
rebels.
(SFC, 8/20/99, p.D3)
1999 Sep 28, Officials called
for a 6,000 member UN force to safeguard the fragile peace accord.
(SFC, 9/29/99, p.C14)
1999 Oct 3, Foday Sankoh
returned home with former junta leader Johnny Paul Koroma and met
with Pres. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. Sankoh gave a radio speech and
pleaded for forgiveness.
(SFC, 10/4/99, p.A16)
1999 Oct 18, In Sierra Leone US
Sec. Albright paid a visit and promised $55 million in US aid and
$65 million in debt forgiveness, conditioned on the implementation
of an IMF economic program.
(SFC, 10/19/99, p.A11)
1999 Oct 22, The UN Security
Council voted to send a 6,000 member peacekeeping force to safeguard
the July 7 peace deal.
(SFC, 10/23/99, p.A10)
1999 Oct 24, In Sierra Leone
some 100 soldiers were killed over the weekend as the Revolutionary
United Front battled former junta soldiers between Makeni and
Lunsar.
(SFC, 10/27/99, p.A13)
1999 Nov 30, Kenyan soldiers
began to arrive as part of a 6,000 member 2-year peacekeeping force
that would include 3,000 soldiers from ECOMOG.
(SFC, 12/1/99, p.C8)
1999 Dec, Sam Bockerie fell out
with RUF leader Foday Sankoh over diamonds and fled to Liberia with
several hundred loyalists.
(SFC, 5/7/03, p.A11)
1999 Yair Klein, a former
lieutenant colonel in the Israeli army, began a prison term in
Sierra Leone. He spent 16 months in prison on charges that he was
smuggling arms to rebels from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).
Klein, through his private mercenary company, Spearhead Ltd., had
provided arms and training to armed forces in South America,
Lebanon, and Sierra Leone.
(AP,
11/20/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yair_Klein)
2000 Jan 15, Three hundred
child soldiers were released. They had been held by AFRC rebels in
Kabala for months.
(SFC, 1/22/00, p.A11)
2000 Jan 20, A hundred child
soldiers arrived in Freetown. They had been held by RUF rebels in
Kabala for months.
(SFC, 1/22/00, p.A11)
2000 Feb 7, The UN Security
Council voted to expand the peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone from
6,000 to 11,100.
(SFC, 2/8/00, p.A14)
2000 Mar 6, It was reported
that RUF rebels earned tens of millions of dollars annually from the
sale of diamonds.
(SFC, 3/6/00, p.A11)
2000 Mar 6, In Sierra Leone
some 150 former rebel fighters were reported killed after a
clandestine diamond mine they were working collapsed.
(SFC, 3/8/00, p.C4)
2000 May 2, Revolutionary
United Front rebels seized 50 UN workers over the last 2 days as the
West African intervention force completed its pullout. The seizures
took place in Makeni, Kailahun and Magburaka.
(SFC, 5/3/00, p.A13)
2000 May 3, Rebels of the
Revolutionary United Front killed 7 UN Kenyan peacekeepers. The
number was later reduced to 4 presumed dead.
(SFC, 5/4/00, p.A1)(WSJ, 5/5/00, p.A1)
2000 May 4, Rebels seized more
UN troops and brought the total of hostages to 90.
(SFC, 5/5/00, p.A18)
2000 May 5, Rebels seized more
UN troops and were reported to be holding 300 troops and observers
hostage. Gen. Vijay Kumar Jetley of India scrambled to consolidate
his UN troop positions.
(SFC, 5/6/00, p.A1)
2000 May 6, Rebels clashed with
UN peacekeepers and advanced on Freetown.
(SFEC, 5/7/00, p.A1)
2000 May 8, In Sierra Leone
bodyguards of Foday Sankoh fired into a crowd of pro-government
protestors in Freetown and killed 7 people. Sankoh later
disappeared.
(SFC, 5/9/00, p.A1)(SFC, 5/10/00, p.A12)
2000 May 10, In Sierra Leone
the cease-fire ended as pro-government forces rushed to fight rebels
moving toward Freetown as refugees clogged the roads. The rebels
were pushed back 23 miles to Newton.
(SFC, 5/11/00, p.A18)(WSJ, 5/11/00, p.A1)
2000 May 14, Rebels handed over
139 UN peacekeepers to Liberia while officials in Freetown secured
the release of 18 others. Meanwhile fighting continued for control
of Masiaka town 30 miles east of Freetown.
(SFC, 5/15/00, p.A12)
2000 May 17, In Sierra Leone
pro-government troops captured rebel leader Foday Sankoh.
(SFC, 5/18/00, p.A10)
2000 May 21, Rebels freed 54
more UN workers as government forces advanced on rebel positions.
(SFC, 5/22/00, p.A10)
2000 May 22, In Liberia 29
captured UN peacekeepers were freed while in Sierra Leone a half
dozen men with UN uniforms and Zambian insignia were found dead.
(SFC, 5/23/00, p.A10)
2000 May 24, In Sierra Leone 2
journalists and 4 soldiers were killed by rebel soldiers some 60
miles northeast of Freetown. Kurt Schork (53) of Reuters was one the
journalists killed.
(SFC, 5/25/00, p.C16)(SFEC, 5/28/00, p.C14)
2000 May 26, In Sierra Leone
rebels released another 180 UN hostages. Pres. Kabbah announced
plans to prosecute rebel leader Foday Sankoh. The government issued
a statement promising not to recruit children under 18.
(SFC, 5/27/00, p.A12,14)
2000 May 28, In Sierra Leone
the last 85 UN peacekeepers were released by rebels into Liberia and
returned to Freetown.
(SFC, 5/29/00, p.A1)
2000 Jun 26, RUF rebels looted
food and burned down the villages of Komrabai, Mamilla and Robis
near the town of Mile 91.
(SFC, 6/28/00, p.A12)
2000 Jun 29, In Sierra Leone 21
UN peacekeepers were freed by rebels and arrived in Liberia.
(SFC, 6/30/00, p.A18)
2000 Jul 5, The UN Security
Council placed a diamond ban on the rebels of Sierra Leone to
strangle their ability to finance the civil war. 90% of the diamond
mines were in rebel hands.
(SFC, 7/6/00, p.A12)
2000 Jul 15, In Sierra Leone UN
troops freed 222 Indian peacekeepers and 11 military observers held
by rebels since May 1. One Indian peacekeeper was killed and 7
others injured.
(SFEC, 7/16/00, p.B9)(SFC, 7/18/00, p.A12)
2000 Aug 21, In Sierra Leone
Issa Sesay, the top field commander of the Revolutionary United
Front, replaced Foday Sankoh as head.
(SFC, 8/22/00, p.A11)(WSJ, 8/22/00, p.A1)
2000 Aug 26, Eleven British
soldiers were seized by the “West side Boys,” a faction of a former
pro-government alliance.
(SFEC, 8/27/00, p.C11)
2000 Sep 10, In Sierra Leone
British troops stormed the jungle base of the West Side Boys and
freed 7 hostages. 25 rebels were killed along with 1 British
soldier. 18 rebels were taken prisoner including leader Foday
Kallay. SAS troopers eradicated the West Side Boys led by Commanders
Mega-Rapist, Slaughter and others.
(SFC, 9/11/00, p.A8)(Econ, 10/22/05, p.61)
2000 Oct 25, The 1,800 man
peacekeeping contingent from Jordan began to withdraw and charged
that rich nations were not doing their share.
(WSJ, 10/26/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 26, Diamonds from
Sierra Leone arrived in Antwerp under a new UN plan to keep diamond
revenues from financing civil war.
(SFC, 10/28/00, p.A12)
2001 Jan 19, In Liberia Pres.
Charles Taylor said that he has ended support of the RUF in Sierra
Leone and would submit to int’l. scrutiny of his finances.
(SFC, 1/20/01, p.A14)
2001 Mar 7, The UN Security
Council imposed an embargo on Liberia’s trade in weapons and
diamonds in an effort to halt arms to rebels in Sierra Leone.
(SFC, 3/8/01, p.A13)
2001 Mar 20, Liberia ordered
its security forces to seal its border with Sierra Leone.
(SFC, 3/21/01, p.A14)
2001 May 16, Rebels and
pro-government militias agreed to end hostilities and begin
disarmament.
(SFC, 5/17/01, p.A12)
2001 May 23, Pres. Bush banned
the import of rough diamonds from Liberia in an effort to deprive
rebels in Sierra Leone of a source of funds.
(SFC, 5/24/01, p.C3)
2001 May 23, The UN reported
that in Sierra Leone some 2,300 fighters turned in their weapons in
the 1st 6 days of a new disarmament deal.
(SFC, 5/24/01, p.C3)
2001 May 25, In Sierra Leone
the Revolutionary United Front surrendered 581 boys and 10 girls
(6-11) to the UN.
(SFC, 5/26/01, p.A10)
2001 Aug 21, It was reported
that rebels were still mining diamonds using conscripts and
children. Sales were being made to middlemen who smuggled the stones
out of the country. The UN mandate to enforce a cease-fire did not
include enforcing a mining ban.
(SFC, 8/21/01, p.A6)
2001 Sep 3, Pres. Ahmed Tejan
Kabbah shook hands with RUF Gen. Issa Sesay in Koidu and declared
himself convinced that the war was over.
(SFC, 9/4/01, p.B1)
2001 Sep 6, Britain announced
that it would wrap up its mission in Sierra Leone by the end of the
month.
(SFC, 9/7/01, p.A16)
2001 Nov 2, It was reported
that Ibrahim Bah, a Libyan-trained former Senegalese rebel, lived in
Burkina Faso and selected diamond dealers to handle deals in Liberia
between rebels from Sierra Leone and the al Qaeda network.
(SFC, 11/2/01, p.A8)
2002 Jan 3, The UN made public
a decision by Kofi Annan to pursue war crimes in Sierra Leone with a
war crimes tribunal.
(SFC, 1/5/02, p.A7)
2002 May 14, UN sponsored
voting for the presidency and parliament took place for the 1st time
since the war ended in 2000. Pres. Kabbah posted a strong lead.
(WSJ, 5/14/02, p.A1)(SFC, 5/15/02, p.A14)(WSJ,
5/16/02, p.A1)(SSFC, 5/19/02, p.A18)
2002 May 19, The National
Election Committee declared Pres. Kabbah the winner with 70.6% of
the votes.
(SFC, 5/20/02, p.A6)
2002 Jul 26, Liberian attackers
crossed into eastern Sierra Leone and abducted 18 villagers, in the
second such raid in just over a week.
(AP, 7/26/02)
2003 Jan 11, It was reported
that former combatants from Liberia and Sierra Leone were pouring
into Ivory Coast to fight with the rebels.
(SFC, 1/11/03, p.A8)
2003 Jan 19, Sierra Leone
declared ex-junta leader Johnny Paul Koroma a wanted man linking him
to an alleged plot to destabilize the country.
(AP, 1/19/03)
2003 Mar 3, A Special Court for
Sierra Leone indicted Liberian Pres. Charles Taylor on charges
including murder, rape, sexual slavery, conscripting child soldiers
and terrorizing civilians for his support of rebels during Sierra
Leone civil war. The Indictment was unsealed on June 4, 2003, during
Taylor's first overseas trip since his indictment.
(AP, 7/14/09)
2003 Mar 10, In Sierra
Leone Foday Sankoh, a former rebel leader whose followers were known
for mutilating civilians, was indicted along with 6 others by Sierra
Leone’s war crimes tribunal. Sam Bockerie was among the indicted.
(AP, 3/11/03)(SFC, 5/7/03, p.A11)
2003 Apr 14, Sierra Leone began
holding truth commission public hearings across the nation.
(AP, 4/15/03)
2003 cApr 19, In Sierra Leone
an international war crimes tribunal indicted Augustine Gbao, a
former rebel battlefield commander in the decade-long civil war
declared over in 2002. He was the 8th person indicted by the special
court.
(AP, 4/20/03)
2003 Apr 25, Fighters from
Sierra Leone and Liberia killed rebel leader Sgt. Felix Doh near the
town of Gbinta, in western Ivory Coast.
(AP, 4/29/03)
2003 Jun 4, The UN Security
Council agreed to end a ban on the export of so-called "blood
diamonds" from Sierra Leone because of government efforts to control
the diamond industry.
(AP, 6/4/03)
2003 Jul 29, Foday Sankoh (65),
an indicted Sierra Leone war criminal whose rebel forces were
notorious for hacking off the limbs, lips and ears of civilians,
died in UN custody at a Freetown hospital.
(AP, 7/30/03)
2003 Dec 4, Interpol put ousted
Liberian leader Charles Taylor on its most-wanted list, issuing a
"red notice" calling for his arrest on war crimes charges in Sierra
Leone's civil war.
(AP, 12/4/03)
2003 Daniel Bergner authored
"In the Land of Magic Soldiers: A Story of White and Black in West
Africa," an account of the war in Sierra Leone.
(Econ, 8/30/03, p.62)
2003 Peter Griffiths authored
"The Economist's Tale: A Consultant Encounters Hunger and the World
Bank," an account of the factors that caused the war in Sierra
Leone.
(Econ, 8/30/03, p.62)
2004 Feb 4, In Sierra Leone
Pres. Ahmed Tejah Kabbah and international sponsors declared a
successful end to disarmament, closing a final chapter in an 11-year
war that was one of the modern world's most vicious.
(AP, 2/4/04)
2004 May 22, Voters in Sierra
Leone choose local councils for the first time in 30 years.
(AP, 5/23/04)
2004 Jun 15, In Sierra Leone a
U.N.-backed war crimes trial began. The court was trying alleged
crimes including rape, burning and looting, use of child soldiers
and forced marriage committed during the 1991-2002 war.
(AP, 6/16/04)
2004 Jun 29, A UN helicopter
crashed in Sierra Leone and all 24 aboard were killed.
(WSJ, 6/30/04, p.A1)
2004 Jul 5, In Sierra Leone a
UN-sponsored war crimes court opened the first trials for rebel
military commanders accused in the 10-year campaign for control of
the diamond-rich country.
(AP, 7/5/04)
2004 Oct, Fanny An Eddy, Sierra
Leone’s best known lesbian, was found murdered.
(Econ, 10/9/04, p.42)
2004 Dec 20, Ten men charged
with plotting to overthrow Sierra Leone's government last year were
convicted of treason and sentenced to death by hanging.
(AP, 12/20/04)
2004 In Sierra Leone a
government sponsored Truth and Reconciliation Commission published
its conclusions and decided that rampant corruption during the
preceding decades was a major cause of the civil war that erupted in
1991.
(Econ, 11/21/09, p.50)
2005 Feb 21, In Sierra Leone an
Australian investigator for a U.N.-backed war-crimes tribunal was
convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl who sought a job
as a nanny in his household.
(AP, 2/21/05)
2005 Feb, Emmerson Bockarie
released an album called “Bor Bor Belleh” (Fat Belly Boys), a
reference to corrupt officials hampering Sierra Leone development.
(Econ, 6/25/05, p.46)
2005 Oct 4, UN peacekeepers
preparing to pull out of Sierra Leone said they have completed the
mission they began six years ago but warn the country still has a
long way to go before it recovers from one of Africa's most brutal
wars.
(AP, 10/4/05)
2005 Dec 30, In Sierra Leone
the last soldiers, in what was once the United Nations' biggest
peacekeeping force, packed up old refrigerators and fax machines,
striking camp after six years helping end the civil war there.
(AP, 12/30/05)
2005 P.W. Singer authored
“Children at War,” a detailed analysis of the use of child soldiers
around the world, including Liberia and Sierra Leone.
(SSFC, 1/30/05, p.C3)
2006 Apr 4, Charles Taylor
appeared in a UN-backed court in Sierra Leone with 11 counts of
crimes against humanity and other violations of int’l. law.
(Econ, 4/8/06, p.46)
2006 Sep 11, Taxi drivers in
Sierra Leone went on strike, bringing the capital to a standstill
after police jailed 100 of their colleagues for driving with bald
tires, broken lights or without a valid license.
(AP, 9/11/06)
2006 Aminatta Forna authored
“Ancestor Stones,” a novel that tells the stories of 4 women in
Sierra Leone following independence in 1961.
(SSFC, 10/1/06, p.G5)
2007 Feb 22, Sam Hinga Norman
(67), a former government minister on trial for allegedly overseeing
a militia accused of torturing and mutilating civilians during
Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war, died at a Senegalese hospital.
(AP, 2/23/07)
2007 May 30, Outgoing British
PM Tony Blair arrived in the small west African nation of Sierra
Leone on the second leg of a three-nation African tour.
(AP, 5/30/07)
2007 Jun 3, In Sierra Leone a
helicopter ferrying passengers to the main airport crashed, bursting
into flames and killing 22 people, mostly Togo soccer fans.
(AP, 6/4/07)(AP, 6/5/07)
2007 Jun 20, In Sierra Leone 3
former military leaders were found guilty of war crimes by a
UN-backed court, the first verdicts from the country's civil war and
the first convictions in an international court for using child
soldiers. Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor
Kanu were indicted in 2003 as the alleged leaders of a junta, called
the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, which toppled the government
in 1997 and then teamed up with rebels to control the country until
1998.
(AP, 6/20/07)
2007 Jun 25, In the Netherlands
former Liberian president Charles Taylor boycotted the resumption of
his war crimes trial.
(AP, 6/25/07)
2007 Jul 19, A UN-backed court
sentenced three former rebel leaders to prison, the first
punishments handed down by the war crimes tribunal since it was set
up five years ago after Sierra Leone's decade-long conflict ended.
Alex Tamba Brima (35) and Santigie Borbor Kanu (42) were each given
50-year jail terms, while Brima Bazzy Kamara (39) received 45 years.
(AP, 7/19/07)
2007 Aug 2, In Sierra Leone 2
former members of a pro-government militia were convicted of war
crimes, the second round of rulings by a UN-backed court attempting
to punish those most responsible for brutalities committed during
Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war. A boat traveling from Freetown
to the northern town of Kassiri capsized in the mouth of the Little
Scarcies River. At least 10 people were killed and 45 others left
missing.
(AP, 8/2/07)(AP, 8/3/07)(AP, 8/4/07)
2007 Aug 4, Unemployment in
Sierra Leone, with a population of some 6 million, stood at close to
80% with poverty and corruption widespread and endemic. The
country’s Anti-Corruption Commission was now a lame duck as its $2
million annual funding was suspended by exasperated British donors.
(Econ, 8/4/07, p.42)
2007 Aug 7, ECOWAS said the
last refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone in Nigeria have been
allowed to settle and they will have access to work, education and
health on the same terms as Nigerians, West African regional bloc.
(AP, 8/8/07)
2007 Aug 11, Sierra Leone held
its first elections since UN peacekeepers left nearly two years ago,
a vote that will test whether the diamond-rich West African country
can transfer power peacefully after years of conflict. The
opposition won a parliamentary majority, but the presidential race
faced a runoff in September.
(AP, 8/11/07)(WSJ, 8/24/07, p.A1)
2007 Sep 8, Voting began in
Sierra Leone's presidential runoff, a ballot to choose the West
African nation's first new leader since UN peacekeepers withdrew two
years ago.
(AP, 9/8/07)
2007 Sep 15, In Sierra Leone
with three-quarters of the vote counted opposition leader Ernest Bai
Koroma held a commanding lead in the presidential runoff.
(AP, 9/15/07)
2007 Sep 17, Sierra Leone
election officials declared opposition candidate Ernest Bai Koroma
has won the presidential run-off.
(AP, 9/17/07)
2007 Oct 9, In Sierra Leone a
UN-backed court sentenced Moinina Fofana and Allieu Kondewa, two
former leaders of a pro-government militia, to six and eight years
in prison for brutalities committed during Sierra Leone's civil war
(1991-2002). In 2008 a UN-backed war crimes court more than doubled
the prison terms for the two ex-militia leaders.
(AP, 10/9/07)(AP, 5/28/08)
2007 Nov 21, Ishmael Beah (27),
a former child soldier and survivor of Sierra Leone's civil war, was
appointed UNICEF's first Advocate for Children Affected by War.
(AP, 11/22/07)
2007 Dec 21, In Freetown,
Sierra Leone, a two-story building of apartments and shops caught
fire and exploded, killing 14 people and injuring 40.
(AP, 12/21/07)
2007 Ishmael Beah (26), former
child soldier in Sierra Leone, authored “A Long Way Gone.”
(WSJ, 2/10/07, p.P8)
2007 In Sierra Leone Abdul
Tejan-Cole, a human rights lawyer, took over as head of the
country’s Anti-Corruption Commission.
(Econ, 11/21/09, p.51)
2008 Jan 22, A UN report said a
newborn in Sierra Leone has the lowest chance in the world of
surviving until age 5, and the prospects are almost as bad for
children in Angola and Afghanistan.
(AP, 1/22/08)
2008 Jul 13, In Sierra Leone a
passenger plane loaded with 1,540 pounds of cocaine was found
abandoned at the main airport.
(SFC, 7/14/08, p.A11)
2008 Sep 2, Sierra Leone's
President Ernest Koroma signed-off on legislation to fight
corruption, then fulfilled his obligations by handing over a
declaration of his assets. Abdul Tejan-Cole, head of the country’s
Anti-Corruption Commission, had introduced a system whereby every
public official must declare his or her assets.
(AFP, 9/2/08)(Econ, 11/21/09, p.51)
2008 Nov 26, Off Sierra Leone
pirates from neighboring Guinea attacked a Chinese fishing vessel in
a rare attack that ended with four suspects dead. Two pirates were
shot, two drowned and the other pirates were arrested by the Sierra
Leone navy.
(AP, 11/27/08)
2008 Dec, Sierra Leone again
earned the distinction of being the world’s least developed country.
Over 70% of the population lived on less than 70 American cents per
day.
(Econ, 12/13/08, p.55)
2009 Feb 25, In Sierra Leone an
international court modeled after the Nuremberg tribunal convicted 3
top rebel leaders of crimes against humanity. Revolutionary United
Front leader Issa Sesay and one of his battlefield commanders Morris
Kallon were found guilty on 16 of 18 counts, including mutilation,
terrorism, rape, forced marriage, sexual slavery and the enlistment
of child soldiers. Commander, Augustine Gbao, was found guilty on 14
of the 18 counts. On April 8 Sesay was sentenced to 51 years in
prison, Kallon to 40 years, and Gbao to 25 years.
(AP, 2/25/09)(WSJ, 4/9/09, p.A10)
2009 Apr 21, Sierra Leone sent
three men convicted of drug smuggling to the US, where they are
wanted on similar charges, shortly after they were sentenced to
five-year prison terms along with five other foreign nationals.
(AP, 4/22/09)
2009 Sep 9, In Sierra Leone at
least 221 people, including many schoolchildren returning from
holidays, remained missing a day after the wooden Teh Teh ferry
capsized at sea. 39 people survived. 30 bodies were recovered and
all the missing were feared dead.
(AP, 9/10/09)(AP, 9/12/09)
2009 Sep 17, Spanish oil major
Repsol YPF said it had discovered oil off the coast of Sierra Leone,
its first find in the west African nation, along with its
Australian, American and British partners.
(AFP, 9/17/09)
2009 Sep 22, The UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced that flash floods
and lighting have claimed 187 lives and affected 635,273 people in
west Africa since the rainy season started in June. This included
103 dead in Sierra Leone, followed by Ghana (24), Mali (20), Ivory
Coast (19), Burkina Faso (8), Niger (7) and Senegal (6).
(AFP, 9/22/09)
2009 Dec 15, In Sierra Leone a
woman barred from running for chief of her district because of her
gender said she has appealed for a new election and a place on the
ballot. Elizabeth Kumba Simbiqa Torto said she wants a new election
because she believes the officials' decision barring her from
running in the Dec 5 Kono District election is discriminatory.
(AP, 12/15/09)
2009 In Sierra Leone the
African Minerals Corp. discovered magnetite at Tonkolili. This was
said to be the world’s largest desposit of the mineral, used among
other things, to coat industrial boilers.
(Econ, 11/27/10,
p.57)(http://tinyurl.com/2d33v6h)
2010 Feb 26, Sierra Leone and
five other west African countries (Mauritania, Senegal,
Guinea-Bissau, Gambia and Guinea) signed onto an action plan in
Freetown for sustainable mangrove management.
(AFP, 2/27/10)
2010 Jul 29, In Sierra Leone
'Papa Jacques,' Montouroy (63), French legendary aid worker, died of
complications from an ulcer. He spent 41 years as a humanitarian
worker for Catholic Relief Services and was known for delivering
food in parts of the world no one else dared enter.
(AP, 8/3/10)
2010 Sep 29, The UN Security
Council lifted a 13-year-old arms embargo against Sierra Leone after
being assured that the nation is sufficiently stable following the
civil war that ended in 2002.
(AP, 9/29/10)
2010 Nov 27, Guinea's
government announced border closures with Sierra Leone by land, sea
and air this evening stranding hundreds of people from Sierra Leone
on Guinea's side.
(AP, 11/28/10)
2010 Nov 29, A Sierra
Leone-flagged cargo ship, Karam 1, sank after colliding with the
Dutch tanker Alessandro DP, 10 miles (16 km) off Cape Emine in the
Black Sea. 5 sailors were rescued and 5 were missing.
(AP, 11/30/10)
2010 Dec 28, West African
leaders Boni Yayi of Benin, Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma and
Pedro Pires of Cape Verde met with incumbent Ivory Coast leader
Laurent Gbagbo to deliver an ultimatum from the ECOWAS regional bloc
to step down or face removal by force. But Gbagbo's government
signaled he was unlikely to agree to cede power to Alassane
Ouattara.
(Reuters, 12/28/10)(SFC, 12/29/10, p.A4)
2010 Sierra Leone writer
Olufemi Terry won the 2010 Caine Prize for African Writing.
(www.caineprize.com/about.php)(Econ, 7/10/10,
p.82)
2011 Mar 11, In the Netherlands
the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor,
once among West Africa's most powerful figures, ended with judges
expected to take months to reach a verdict on whether he can be
linked to murders and amputations during Sierra Leone's civil war.
(AP, 3/11/11)
2011 May 17, Sierra Leone
police seized three tons of marijuana with an estimated street value
of some $10 million, one of its biggest seizures in recent years.
Authorities said they are fighting the increased production of
marijuana, mainly by unemployed youths looking for ways to earn
money.
(Reuters, 5/18/11)
2011 Jul 25, Sierra Leone said
it has launched a five-year plan to regulate the sale and use of
small arms, which still abound a decade after the end of a civil
war, causing insecurity.
(AFP, 7/25/11)
2011 Sep 2, Sierra Leone said
its tourism industry raked in $19 million in the first half of the
year, as the country lures travellers to its white beaches after a
brutal civil war.
(AFP, 9/2/11)
2011 Sep 6, Sierra Leone said
it has struck 27 political parties off the register for failing to
submit audited 2010 accounts. This left only four parties in the
running for next year's polls.
(AFP, 9/6/11)
2011 Sep 9, In Sierra Leone
violence broke out in the second largest city Bo when people pelted
Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), the main
opposition presidential candidate with stones, hitting him on the
head.
(AFP, 9/10/11)
2011 Sep 22, Police in Sierra
Leone, where elections are due next year, ordered a moratorium on
all political party rallies and public meetings until further
notice.
(AFP, 9/22/11)
2011 Sep 23, Sierra Leone's
albinos launched an association to defend their rights and asked the
government for jobs and scholarships to help them fight
marginalization.
(AFP, 9/23/11)
2011 Oct 10, An undersea
telecommunications table landed in Sierra Leone, part of a 17,000-km
fiber optic line that aims to connect countries along the west
African coast to Europe.
(AFP, 10/11/11)
2011 Dec 3, Sierra Leone's
Pres. Ernest Bai Koroma officially declared the Gola Rainforest a
national park.
(AP, 12/3/11)
2012 Jan 15, Sierra Leone
police used live bullets and tear gas to quell rioting between
followers of the ruling party and opposition where several people
suffered stab wounds.
(AFP, 1/16/12)
2012 Feb 6, Sierra Leone’s
Pres. Ernest Bai Koroma forced the UN mission chief Michael von der
Schulenburg out of his job in order to improve his re-election
chances. Schulenburg had warned of this possibility in December.
(Econ, 2/18/12, p.52)
2012 Mar 22, UN envoy Michael
von der Schulenburg called on the impoverished Sierra Leone
government to explain why it imported several million dollars worth
of assault weapons last January for a police paramilitary wing. A
leaked shipping bill indicated the arms included machine guns and
even grenade launchers.
(AFP, 3/22/12)
2012 Apr 4, Sierra Leone's
government defended a multi-million dollar weapons shipment as part
of routine procurement, after the United Nations called for an
explanation over the import.
(AFP, 4/4/12)
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