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Between 1991 and 2002, Sierra Leone was devastated by a decade of war, which left between 50,000 and 200,000 dead. The conflict was also marked by rapes, mutilations and the forcible use of child soldiers in rebel and official armies. 20 years later, the country is still trying to recover from one of the most brutal conflicts in Africa and remains deeply divided. Despite its many riches, it is one of the poorest countries in the world.
For survivors, it is impossible to forget the horror of the war in Sierra Leone, which was consumed with cash from diamonds mined in war zones and sold for weapons, as depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster ‘Blood Diamond’, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
The conflict began when rebels from the United Revolutionary Front attacked eastern Sierra Leone in 1991 on the border with Liberia, an insurrection against the power base of President Joseph Saidu Momoh, who sent troops to fight the rebellion.
The clashes unleashed a wave of violence that led to military coups and attracted foreign forces, both officially and unofficially. In 2012, the former president of neighboring Liberia, Charles Taylor, was sentenced by a special international court to 50 years in prison for aiding and inciting war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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