The+War

=There are two sides to every story.= The RUF: The Revolutionary United Front began as a group of university students who were fed up with the instability in the government. Read more about the [|Background on the RUF]. One of the most powerful leaders of the RUF is [|Foday Sankoh].
 * Foday Sankoh Captured.**

In the meantime, the Sierra Leone government fought hard to maintain a central government, but they were not without their faults either. In fact, Ishmael Beah was a child soldier for the army, not the RUF. The Sierra Leone government and the RUF used child soldiers to fight and to understand how the recruitment of child soldier began in the first place, read [|Child Soldier in Sierra Leone] = = = = = = = = = = =Why Don't You Know Who Charles Taylor is?= Taylor ranks fourth on the worst leaders in African countries, only slightly behind the infamous Idi Amin of Uganda. While president of nearby Liberia, Charles Taylor funded the RUF with weapons and money in exchange for diamonds. He directly supported the use of child soldiers in the diamond mines. He was tried in a UN tribunal for violations against humanity and war crimes. Learn more about the outcome by reading [|Charles Taylor's Crimes]

=The War TimeLine= This timeline will help you better understand the instability in Sierra Leone over the last one hundred years (from colonization), but pay close attention to the last twenty-five. The conflict in Sierra Leone did NOT happen overnight.

[|Sierra Leone Time Line]