RUF

Anne, Adam, Courtney, Eric

The Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone   How everything came about  -1980s- Many university students in Sierra Leone had become radicalized by the government's suppression of their demonstrations by exposure to new ideas, including the thoughts of Col. Qaddafi. This was matched by the continued and dramatic growth in unemployed and disaffected youth who had became socialized in a climate of violence, drugs and criminality

-October 1, 1985- Momoh elected president in one party referendum

-1887-1988- 25-50 Sierra Leoneans were taken to Libya for training in the "art of revolution." Among the students was a functional illiterate who had become part of a "revolutionary cell" in Kono. Foday Sankoh was a former army corporal and photographer who had been jailed for seven years for alleged implication in the 1971 coup plot against Siaka Stevens

-March 1991- a small band of men who called themselves the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) under the leadership of a former-corporal, Foday Sankoh, began to attack villages in eastern Sierra Leone on the Liberian border. Fighting continued in the ensuing months, with the RUF gaining control of the diamond mines in the Kono district and pushing the Sierra Leone army back towards Freetown.

-October 1991- Momoh had the constitution amended once again, re-establishing a multi-party system. Under Momoh, APC (All People's Congress) rule was increasingly marked by abuses of power

-1991-2000- the group used guerrilla, criminal, and terror tactics, such as murder, torture, and mutilation, to fight the government, intimidate civilians, and keep U.N. peacekeeping units in check

-2000- RUF held hundreds of U.N. peacekeepers hostage until their release was negotiated, in part, by the RUF's chief sponsor, Liberian president Charles Taylor. The group also has been accused of attacks in Guinea at the behest of President Taylor.

-2001-  Reports of serious abuses by the RUF declined significantly. The resumption of the government's Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration program in May was largely responsible

Goals Foday Sankoh [|Foday Sankoh: The cruel rebel]
 * To overthrow the government of Sierra Leone
 * At the time they did not give any kind of indication of what type of government system they wanted to be put in place
 * Published “Footpaths to Democracy: Toward a new Sierra Leone”
 * Made references to social justice and pan-Africanism
 * Pan-Africanism is the philosophy and movement which seeks to unify native Africans
 * This view calls for a politically united Africa.
 * The founder of the RUF in 1991
 * In 1971, he was a corporal in the Sierra Leone army
 * In 1988, he met some young radicals and traveled to Libya
 * Upon his return he joined with the National Patriotic Front of Liberia led by Charles Taylor

Formation of the RUF
 * Led by Sankoh backed by Charles Taylor
 * First attacks on villages in Kailahun District

Description //[]// Activities The RUF was virtually dismantled by the imprisonment of RUF leader Foday Sankoh in 2001; a Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration program begun in mid-2001; and the official end to the civil war in January 2002. The group’s poor showing in the May 2002 Presidential elections and the possibility of prosecution if the impending UN-sponsored Sierra Leone Special Court for war crimes have further weakened organizational cohesion. From 1991 to 2000, they used guerrilla, criminal, and terror tactics, such as murder, torture, and mutilation, to fight the government, intimidate civilians, and keep UN peacekeeping units in check. In 2000, they held hundreds of UN peacekeepers hostage until their release was negotiated, in part, by the RUF’s chief sponsor, Liberian President Charles Taylor. The group also has been accused of attacks in Guinea at the behest of President Taylor.
 * The RUF is a loosely organized force
 * Fought a ten-year civil war to seize control of the lucrative diamond-producing regions of the country
 * The group funds itself largely through the extraction and sale of diamonds obtained in areas of Sierra Leone under its control.
 * //"The RUF has defied all available typologies on guerilla movements. It neither a separatist uprising rooted in a specfic demand, as in the case of Eritrea, nor a reformist movement with a radical agenda superior to the regime it sought to overthrow. Nor does it possess the kind of leadership that would be necessary to designate it as warlord insurgency. The RUF has made history; it is a peculiar guerilla movement without any significant national following or ethnic support"//



Sierra Leone RUF rebels sentenced Strength Once estimated at several thousand supporters and sympathizers, the group has dwindled to several hundred, although many of the demobilized fighters have not been reintegrated into society and could take up arms against the government again. Child Soldiers [|Inside the RUF: at last the child soldiers of Sierra Leone have their say] <span style="font-family: Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">[] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Location/Area of Operation <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">External Aid <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A UN experts’ panel report on Sierra Leone said President Charles Taylor of Liberia provided support and leadership to the RUF. The UN also identified Libya, Gambia, and Burkina Faso as conduits for weapons and other materiel for the RUF.
 * Estimated 10,000 children soliders that have fought for the RUF
 * Mainly used for attacks on villages or to stay on guard at diamond fields
 * Terrifying methods of cruelty were used against these children
 * Such as prostituion and in situations where children were fighters, some were forced to kill their own parents.
 * Children also are forced to have the the lettering "RUF" carved in their chest to mark them as soldiers. Typically the RUF likes to kidnap children from ages seven to twelve. In many of the pictures below and at the bottom of the page, it is clear that many soldiers are of young age



Rebels from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and Armed Forces Revolutionary Council [AFRC] patrol through the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone shortly after a coup in May 1997 which overthrew democratically elected president Tejan Kabbah. Many Liberian fighters joined up with the joint RUF/AFRC forces during their nine months in power