Sierra Leone

HISTORY

·        The current crisis has its roots in British interests in the region dating back more than 3 centuries

·        SL - a tiny tract of land, which was settled in 1787 by a group of freed slaves and called Freetown

·        1808 -  Britain took control of the settlement making it a naval base

·        II WW – strategically important staging and supply base for Allied ships

·        After à plunged into chronic political instability; series of military coups

·        Subsequent rulers deprived the country of its natural resources – iron ore & diamonds and failed to revive the economy

M      1989 – ECOMOG – West African intervention force entered Freetown à Foday Sankoh formed Revolutionary United Front backed by the Liberian faction leader Charles Taylor

M      1991 – RUF launched a terror campaign in which it maimed and brutalised the civilian population

M      this added to the already tangled political situation and results in next coups