Liberated Zone (Sierra Leone)

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Liberated Zone
1991–2002
Flag of Liberated Zone (Sierra Leone)
RUF Party flag
RUF Party seal
Coat of arms
StatusQuasi-state[1]
CapitalKono (RUF stronghold from 1992 on)[2][3]
Leader of the Revolutionary United Front 
• 1991–1997
Foday Sankoh
• 1997–1999
Sam Bockarie[4]
• 1999–2000[5]
Foday Sankoh
• 2000
Vacant
• 2000–2002
Issa Sesay[6]
Spokesperson of the Revolutionary United Front 
• Unknown
Fayia Musa,[7] Gibril Massakoi[8] and Omrie Michael Golley[9]
EstablishmentSierra Leone Civil War
History 
• Established
23 March 1991[10][2][11]
• Capturing of Foday Sankoh[15]
17 May 2000
• Disetablished
January 2002[16]
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Republic of Sierra Leone
Republic of Sierra Leone

The Liberated Zone refers to the territory that the Revolutionary United Front controlled, the RUF itself called their areas "Liberated Zone".[17][18][19][20]

Territory

The Revolutionary United Front started their takeover of territories at the start of the Sierra Leone Civil War on 23 March 1991, in one month they took almost all of the Eastern Province.[21] They took over areas in which diamond mines existed, mostly in the east, they put their sight on these areas to finance themselves.[26] With the diamonds they bought weapons from Charles Taylor, or soldiers were trained in exchange.[27][28] In early 1995 the RUF moved within several miles of Freetown.[29] In 2000 the RUF almost controlled all of Sierra Leone, execpt for the capital city Freetown.[27][24][30]

Governance

From 1991 until 1995, the Liberated Zone was under limited martial rule.[17][31]

Military

Recruitment

The RUF took advantage of the refugees, who were abandoned, starving, and in dire need of medical attention, by promising food, shelter, medical care, and looting and mining profits in return for their support. When this method of recruitment failed, as it often did for the RUF, youths were often coerced at gunpoint to join the ranks of the RUF. After being kidnapped or forced to join, many child soldiers learned that the complete lack of law – as a result of the civil war – provided a unique opportunity for self-empowerment through violence and thus continued to support the rebel cause.[32][33][34]

Economy

Diamond mining

Some people that lived in the Liberated Zone were forced to work in diamond mines.[35] The estimated of the volume of RUF diamonds vary widely, from $25 million per annum to $125 million, with this the RUF military activity sustained.[36]

Health care

The Liberated Zone claimed that they provided limited health care, similar to other sectors like schooling, housing and seedlings.[17] The US Department of State on the other hand reported in 2000 that the people don't have access to the most basic social services like health care and education.[27]

See also

References

  1. "Working Paper 10 - 'The Middlemen': War Supply Networks in Sierra Leone and Angola" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-10-20.
  2. "Sierra Leone - The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) - Trying to influence an army of children" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-04-19.
  3. Dickey, supra note 27, at 9
  4. "Bockarie died a wanted man". BBC News. May 8, 2003.
  5. "'I am the scorpion. I captured the lion'". The Guardian. May 18, 2000.
  6. "CNN.com - Sierra Leone govt says RUF rebels have new leader - August 21, 2000". CNN.
  7. https://www.ijmonitor.org/2010/04/ruf-leader-foday-sankohs-intransigence-caused-a-delay-in-ending-the-sierra-leone-conflict-defense-witness-says/
  8. https://reliefweb.int/report/sierra-leone/sierra-leone-ruf-gets-new-leader
  9. https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2006/01/24/ex-rebel-official-accused-bid-overthrow-government
  10. "Revolutionary United Front (RUF) | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2026-04-18.
  11. Gerdes, Felix. "Civil War and State formation The political Economy of War and Peace in Liberia" (PDF). Campus. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  12. Simmons, Ann M. (May 18, 2000). "Sierra Leone Guerrilla Chief Is Captured". Los Angeles Times.
  13. "Released UN troops return to Sierra Leone; rebel leader captured - Sierra Leone | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. May 17, 2000.
  14. Brown, Derek (May 17, 2000). "Who is Foday Sankoh?". The Guardian.
  15. [5][12][13][14]
  16. "Footpaths to Reintegration - Armed Conflict, Youth and the Rural Crisis in Sierra Leone". Archived from the original on 2014-03-10.
  17. "Footpaths to Democracy - Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone - Sierra Leone Web". Federation of American Scientists.
  18. Abdullah, Ibrahim (2004). Between Democracy and Terror: The Sierra Leone Civil War. Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa. ISBN 978-2-86978-123-8. OCLC 58843520.
  19. https://blogs.shu.edu/journalofdiplomacy/files/archives/11_pham.pdf
  20. https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/sites/default/files/en/sc/repertoire/96-99/Chapter%208/Africa/08%20-%20Sierra%20Leone.pdf
  21. "Sierra Leone Civil War". globalsecurity.org.
  22. "Revolutionary United Front (RUF) | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2026-04-18.
  23. "Revolutionary United Front (RUF)". globalsecurity.org.
  24. "Why the war in Sierra Leone is far from won - Sierra Leone | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. September 1, 2000.
  25. "SIERRA LEONE AND CONFLICT DIAMONDS: ESTABLSHING A LEGAL DIAMOND TRADE AND ENDING REBEL CONTROL OVER THE COUNTRY'S DIAMOND RESOURCES" (PDF). Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  26. [22][2][23][24][25]
  27. "10/11/00: Susan E. Rice, Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on African Affairs". 1997-2001.state.gov.
  28. "Pressure Makes Diamonds". cashfordiamondsusa.com.
  29. "Revolutionary United Front". Encyclopedia of Terrorism. 2003. doi:10.4135/9781412952590.n371. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  30. https://www.reuters.com/article/economy/ex-rebel-ruf-party-bows-out-of-sierra-leone-polls-idUSL09886760/
  31. https://www.sierra-leone.org/footpaths.html
  32. Gberie, Lansana (2005). A Dirty War in West Africa: The RUF and the Destruction of Sierra Leone. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-21855-1. OCLC 67774535.
  33. "Der Krieg in den Köpfen". Deutschlandfunk Kultur. August 19, 2009.
  34. "Sage Reference - The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism - Revolutionary United Front" (PDF).
  35. "Sierra Leone".
  36. "Report of the Panel of Experts on Sierra Leone Diamonds and Arms". globalsecurity.org.