The Sierra Leone Civil War - Research Paper Example

? Tarawalie Alusine Tarawalie Mr. Raed Abunada English 102 1st May The Sierra Leone Civil War: Methods used by the RUF whether effective or not In what might be termed as one of the worst civil wars that mankind ever witnessed, Sierra Leone was not only devastated but was left in a state of utter helplessness- her citizens effectually demoralised and rendered hopeless without any distant possibility of a normal life. This war, in effect, was like any other civil war, save one thing- the brutalities inflicted by the rebel army known as the Revolutionary United Front was of a massive scale and of unprecedented devilishness. "The first major crack within the RUF was connected with the indiscriminate violence and terror against civilians in areas under their control” (Abdullah, 33). In presenting this paper, I intend to analyze the effectiveness of the methods used by the RUF in terrorising young children and other refugees in becoming forced fighters as well as their sheer ruthlessness in destroying civilian dwellings by theft, loot, and murder. In doing so, I have considered to present some important events of the war: the beginning of the war and the formation/evolution of RUF, the resistance faced by the RUF, techniques implemented by the RUF, effects of the war and the RUF brutalities, and the eventual end of the war along with the RUF. The paper ends with a conclusion regarding the effectiveness of the RUF in their approach and the effects that it generated throughout the life and times of the people of the fated country – Sierra Leone. Tarawalie 2 BEGINNING OF THE WAR: THE FORMATION OF RUF AND ITS AGENDA On 23rd March, 1991, Sierra Leone was engulfed in a civil war that was to last for more than a decade. The inception of the war was triggered by the rebel army named Revolutionary United Front which was led by Foday Sankoh – a former corporal of the Sierra Leone army who later became a pro-Gaddafi insurgent. On returning back from Libya after receiving specialised training, he initiated an insurgency movement which later culminated into a civil war. His actions were supported by Charles Taylor- the then Liberian president “who (Charles Taylor) was the principal beneficiary from this criminal business” (Gberie 184). Although the RUF theme was aimed solely to set up a multi-party democracy by overthrowing the Momoh regime, they completed failed to define a future political agenda. What seemed to be the bottom-line were the massive diamond resources that were to come under their disposal once the current regime was powerless. These economic perks along with the ineffectual retaliation from the government forces and the subsequent defection by many civilians and soldiers led the country to a grotesque civil war. Although the RUF would later face some resistance from the Sierra Leone army, negligence and incompetence would allow them to later push back across the country and maintain their strongholds on many economically and geographically important areas like the mines of Moyamba and Bonthe districts and the country’s capital- Freetown. For most of Sierra Leone’s youth, there were only limited options left- either to remain where they were and get themselves obliterated by the rebels or to flee to the neighbouring Liberia. Ironically, this was to led them into war rather than distance them from the conflict. What the world was going to witness was the grotesque killings of refugees and forced inclusion of children into the military either by force or by the fake promises of food, water and medical care. Tarawalie 3 RESISTANCE FACED BY THE RUF The RUF in the course of its aggressive journey encountered many resistances which it either quelled or dealt with tactical approach. "Despite their brutality the RUF retained coherence as a military force and their links to neighbouring Liberia ensured that they could maintain themselves with equipment and provisions" (Dorman 38). Nevertheless, most of the initial resistances were either not consistent or were quite incompetent in their fight against the rebels which allowed the latter to continue their aggression. Sierra Leone Army. The Sierra Leone Army, in effect, did much damage to the morale of the citizens than the RUF could perhaps have done. In theory, the army was much relentless in the pursuit of the ever dodging RUF men who under the cover of the stolen SLA uniforms created havoc and confusion among the people. As a result, the army got involved in combing operations which led the civilians far away from their homes. During these operations, their homes were looted and the blame was surpassed onto the RUF. The army itself consisted of fresh recruits owing to the heavy requirements in the war and these recruits were “provided only the most rudimentary military training for two to six weeks before sending the new recruits to the front lines”(Woods 28). Drug abuse, indiscipline and higher number of criminals in the army caused a boomerang effect rather than suppressing the RUF despite of the latter being far less in number than that SLA.. As a result, the SLA couldn’t do much in order to restore peace in the war-torn country. All it did was to increase the despair of the civilians who were seemingly unable to distinguish between a friend and a foe. Executive Outcomes. When Edben Barlow founded Executive Outcomes- a paramilitary group that was a pool of spies, assassins, and mercenaries, he never knew that one day they would play Tarawalie 4 a crucial rule in the outcome of a civil war. “EO drew on experience gained in organising local auxiliaries as counter insurgency forces in Rhodesia” (Peters 146) and other parts of Africa with the group consisting around 3000 highly trained soldiers who were thoroughly trained in guerrilla warfare and counter-insurgency operations. In the lucrative contract that EO acquired for $1.8 million per month along with other terms and agreements that were sketchy, it was to "to destroy RUF headquarters, and to clear remaining areas under RUF control." (Hirsch 39). Also, the EO had to recapture the diamond mines from the clutches of the RUF along with providing sufficient training to the SLA all the while propagandising the cause of the government. Such was the strength and tenacity of the group that within a short period of six months the RUF were suppressed in many operations rendering them a crushing defeat. Along with the loyal SLA troops and sufficient military gear, the EO retook many RUF strongholds like the Kangari hills. In one of its major achievement, it helped set up the communications know-how for enabling toe SLA to track down the RUF. It also helped to enforce order in the capital city of Freetown. In what was a key achievement, the EO not only ensured aggressive resistance and retake of many key areas but also forced the RUF into peace. TECHNIQUES IMPLEMENTED BY THE RUF The RUF implemented various methods in order to further their aggression. Not only did they commit atrocities but also took advantage of various social and economic conditions of the near starved civilians who were ready to do anything for a morsel. Men were slaughtered and children were branded. There were mass lootings, thefts, murders, and physical abuse. Refugee camps were virtually converted into forced military recruitment centres. Tarawalie 5 SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND MILITARY TACTICS Not only did the RUF worsen the life of the civilians but also incurred confusion among the SLA and the general public as to the authenticity of the operations carried. While advancing through the southern and eastern regions of Sierra Leone, they carried out lootings and acquired the SLA uniforms. In subsequent operations, SLA soldiers were portrayed by the RUF by conducting attacks and raids in their own uniforms and hence labelled the former as hostiles to their own country men by carrying out heavy lootings, thefts, and murders. As a result of this, there came a time when the people couldn’t distinguish between the two which led to widespread unpopularity of the SLA. This was further aggravated by the army carrying out combing operations to separate the civilians from the rebels and in the process ended up looting the civilian territories which they saw as more profitable than fighting against the RUF for their own countrymen. As a result, confusion and disorder prevailed in the country with no one to turn to for a much needed help. Had it been only the military tactics, it would have been considered as a war strategy. But RUF went many steps further. The refugee camps served as a massive recruitment centre which exposed the helplessness of the poor people who were in dire need of the basics of life. Taking advantage of such situations, the RUF recruited many people to support their cause and to increase their manpower. These refugees were a mixture of the war-torn Sierra Leone people and the neighbouring Liberians. Many, if not all, fell prey to their fake promises of good living conditions and a share of the profit from the mines and their daily loots. Although this tactic didn’t go through well, the RUF was successful in recruiting those who were either starved to death or were completely left stranded with no one to care for. All they wanted from them was sheer expendable man-power with none of the aforesaid promises being carried out. Tarawalie 6 CHILD SOLDIERS The war saw large scale displacement of children into refugee camps or simply into the streets and unknown places in dire requirement of food, shelter, and medical supply. “Many children were abducted from villages to be socialized in military camps” (Jong 50). This was done by using either force or false promises. Most of them were subjected to gruesome torture either by the use of drugs or brute force. By providing drugs, the RUF made sure that the children became forced loyalists out of the desperation caused by the drugs. This was a far more effective method than forced slavery as they didn’t have to bother themselves about any possible escape. The drugs were simply administered in many cases by rubbing them onto the wounds and hence forcing them into the war due to the eventual addiction that over-powered their choices. Some children were branded with the RUF mark on their chests thus depicting them simply as a product rather than a human being. With little or no “sense of what was right and wrong and shameful, particularly since so many were children" (Keen 76), they found an ironical but practical way of survival- empowering themselves with weapons and by following the footsteps of the RUF and assisting them in lootings, murders, and thefts in their own country. The children were much preferred to men because of obvious reasons that they eat less and demand less. After a brief and inadequate training, they were handed AK-47 assault rifles and were led into some of the heavy battlefields simply to be used as fighting machines. Girls were usually subjected to physical abuse and were later fated to become soldier wives. In desperation to survive, many became prostitutes and countless were merely obliterated by the hands of the RUF for whom the children were merely a count rather than human. On the whole, Sierra Leone displayed some of the worst cases of child abuse in the wake of the war. Tarawalie 7 END OF THE WAR Abidjan Peace Accord. On 20th November, 1996, a peace accord was signed between the government of Sierra Leone People’s Party and the RUF. One of the main reasons that encouraged the RUF to sign the peace treaty was crushing defeat that they had incurred at the hands of the EO at many places since “the military defeat of the RUF by raids organized by the mercenary group Executive Outcomes (EO) and government forces convinced the rebels that continuing the military path was likely to lead to their complete destruction” (Mutwol 220). The peace accord was short lived due to many reasons. One was the withdrawal of the EO forces much before the country’s military could take over effectively. Furthermore, the subsequent belief of the country’s government about their being capable of taking on the RUF proved drastically wrong and the war resumed within a very short period. Lome Peace Agreement. In contrast to the Abidjan Peace Accord, the Lome Peace Agreement seemed to be supporting the RUF cause rather than putting the interests of Sierra Leone at the forefront. In effect, the treaty enabled the Sankoh- the leader of RUF to gain vide presidency in the very country that he helped destroy. The objectives of the treaty were widely criticised both within the country and by international community who didn’t understand that pro-RUF aspects of the same. Operation Palliser. In what seemed to be one of the initiating points behind the end of the war, Operation Palliser was conducted by the British Royal marines in a bid to evacuate the foreign nationals from the war-torn country. In the process of doing so, the british forces played a vital role in the weakening of the RUF and the eventual shift of power to the government. Tarawalie 8 END OF THE WAR The decade long war had many reason to come to an end although it had caused massive and irreversible damage to the people and the country. One among many was the intervention of the British forces that led to the weakening of the RUF and the eventual shift in power to the government as "the arrival of a British military task force that month stabilized the deteriorating situation by securing Freetown" (Paris 222). Further to the aforesaid, the country saw many bombing raids from the neighbouring Guinean side that rooted out many RUF strongholds. A United Nations mandate presented some tantalizing resolutions that shook up the RUF. In one of the major decisions that it took, Liberia was forced to expel all RUF members from their country. This was a strong wave that hit the latter as the Liberian support was the backbone to the RUF. Once all support was taken back the RUF didn’t find meaning in the plausibility of continuing the war. Not only were they militarily weakened but financial support started to cease along with all illegal trade and smuggling of diamonds. Many reasons as stated above attributed to the end of the war and the subsequent fall of the RUF. Although they were shattered, the effects of the war and their brutalities had left a permanent scar, the pain of which radiated through out generations to come. Millions of people were killed and countless were displaced. Some consider this decade long war as worse in comparison to other humanitarian crisis going on in similar parts of Africa like the Darfur region. Whatever may be the outcome, the end of the war saw some convictions in the name of war crime. Many RUF leaders were convicted for war crimes ranging from murder, terrorism, enslavement etc. However, Foday Sankoh – the founding leader of the RUF never lived enough to face the consequences of his atrocities as he died of a stroke while awaiting the trial. Tarawalie 9 EFFECTS OF THE WAR AND RUF BRUTALITIES The wrath of the RUF on the civilians of Sierra Leone has been considered as one of the worst humanitarian crisis. Millions of people were displaced from their homes and lived in constant danger of getting wiped out by the rebels. There have been terrifying accounts of how the RUF instilled sheer terror among children who were forced to kill their own family. In the aftermath of the war, this has led to many getting mentally imbalanced. Some children who had become soldiers during the war found it surprisingly difficult to return to a civilian life where they didn’t seem to find any purpose. Women had suffered the brunt of the war due to physical abuses and torture with some of them resorting to prostitution or becoming soldier wives. Rehabilitation of women who bore the trauma of the war was one of the greatest challenges in front of the international community. The war had a devastating result on the social and economic lives of the people. Economy crashed and agriculture was seriously down to a point where the prices for general goods and commodities shot sky-high. People resorted to the last way which was smuggling the diamonds. Education almost ceased to exist as many children returning from the war were forced to work in diamond mines. Some of these children made it to back to their homes with the help and support of the international aid. Like in any civil war, the country’s infrastructure bore the permanent scars. The refugee camps still thronged with thousands of people unsure of where to go as what was left of their country after the gruesome war didn’t seem appealing by any means. The United Nations and other international organisations immediately stepped into the picture although an immediate reorganisation and relief was something that seemed far from possible. Sierra Leone had seen it all. Tarawalie 10 CONCLUSION The RUF, as discussed above, used varying methods to satisfy their interests in the civil war of Sierra Leone ranging from tactical socio-economic ways to sheer force and torture. At the end of the decade long war, the RUF saw its downfall. However, the effects that it left on the people was a long-lasting one. By the means of what can be termed as ironical and sadistic effective methods, the RUF succeeded in achieving their interests in the initial and mid phases of the war. One of the main reasons behind the initial success of the RUF was that “the operational system of the RUF resulted in some of its most ruthless fighters remaining for longer periods at frontline” (Peters 165). Although, the RUF had to see downfall after some years and eventually led to the end of the war, the trauma hasn’t left people and many did not even recuperate from the years of psychological and physical suffering. The children and other SLA soldiers underwent amputations of their arms and legs only to be relieved from any future plausibility of working in the mines. Such were the ways of the RUF which was out of an ordinary man’s comprehension. What happened in the country can never be justified and the scars will remain for long. For as far as the people of Sierra Leone are concerned, moving along is the only option left. One look backwards and they aren’t sure what the future holds for them, for such were the times endured by the Sierra Leone people which rendered faith as an incomprehensible substance. Tarawalie 11 Works Gberie, Lansana. A Dirty War in West Africa: The R.U.F. and the Destruction of Sierra Leonne. United Kingdom: C. Hurst & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 2005. Print Jong, Wil de, Deanna Donovan, Ken-ichi Abe: Extreme conflict and tropical forests. Netherlands: Springer, 2007. Print. Woods, Larry J., Colonel Timothy R. Reese. Military Interventions in Sierra Leone: Lessons from a Failed State. Kansas: CSI Press Publications, 2008. Print. Peters, Krijn. War and the Crisis of Youth in Sierra Leone. U.S.A.: Cambridge, 2011. Print. Keen, David. Conflict & collusion in Sierra Leon. U.S.A.: Palgrave, 2005. Print. Mutwol, Julius. Peace agreements and civil wars in Africa: insurgent motivations, state responses, and third-party peacemaking in Liberia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. USA: Cambria, 2009. Print. Paris, Roland. At war's end: building peace after civil conflict. U.S.A.: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print. Dorman, M. Andrew. Blair's successful war: British military intervention in Sierra Leone. England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2009. Print. Abdullah, Ibrahim. Between democracy and terror: the Sierra Leone civil war. South Africa: Codesria, 2004. Print. Hirsch , John L. Sierra Leone: diamonds and the struggle for democracy. U.S.A.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2001. Print. Read More