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 28, Cinque, originally
Senghbe, and 52 other Africans were kidnapped in Sierra Leone and sold
into slavery in Cuba. They were carried on a Spanish ship to Cuba where
43 surviving slaves revolted. They killed the captain and ordered the
crew back to Africa but the ship sailed north and ran aground [was
captured by the US Navy] on Long Island. 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.
(SFC, 11/13/96, p.E2)(SFC, 9/5/97,
p.C3)(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)(WSJ, 12/16/97, p.A18)(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 25, 35 Amistad survivors
returned to Sierra Leone, Africa. [see Jun 28, 1839]
(MC, 11/25/01)
1842 US abolitionists 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.
(SFEC,12/797, DB p.44)
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)
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, 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)
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)
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Subject = Sierra Leone
End of file