RUF


 * The Revolutionary United Front** (RUF) was a rebel army that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later developed into a political party, which existed until 2007. At first, the RUF was popular with Sierra Leoneans, many of whom resented a Freetown elite seen as corrupt and looked forward to promised free education and health care and equitable sharing of diamond revenues. However, the RUF developed a reputation internationally for enormous cruelty during its decade-long struggle. The RUF put forward the slogan:

"No More Slaves, No More Masters. Power and Wealth to the People."

[[image:http://blogs.newamericamedia.org/images/34.jpg align="center" caption="external image 34.jpg"]] ** Initial Goal: **** The initial goal was to overthrow the government of Sierra Leone. **


 * The RUF initially were meant for good. They were a group of Sierra Leone yuong men (many who were educated in colleges) in hopes of creating a better and more prosperous land...starting with restructuring the government. They grew in popularity but needed funding. They came across the massive diamond resource found in central Sierra Leone. In an attempt to control and benefit from such a valuable resource, the RUF began changing their tactics and goals in order to protect their only resource base. From thence forward they have been known to kill many and recruit thousands at gunpoint.
 * The actions involving the RUF show just how ironic they are as a group. They began as a goal-oriented organization in an attempt to overthrow the government. However, even surviving RUF soldiers describe their participation as being more about vengence for family members and basic survival. Very few participants in the war knew who or what they were fighting for.

People of Importance: "a peaceful end that he denied to so many others." Pictures of Foday outside of court house.
 * ** Foday Sankoh **
 * Former soldier for the Sierra Leone army
 * Founder of the RUF. Ran the group through the 1991 - 2002 Sierra Leone Civil War.
 * Ordered mass murders upon diamond-rich areas
 * Instructed outright violence and mass rape
 * Began "Operation Pay Yourself" within the RUF which encouraged soldiers to loot and rummage anything left behind by their victims.
 * 1997 - Fled to Nigeria and put on house arrest, within days sent to prison.
 * 2000 - Charged with 17 countsof war crimes, including crimes against humanity, rape, sexual slavery, and Genocide
 * 2003 - Died while awaiting trial due to complications from a stroke. One close to the conflict and trial was quoted as saying that Sankoh died


 * ** Charles Taylor **
 * He rallied people to overthrow Liberia's government and remove former President Doe from office. He was successful.
 * Power hungry leader with a college degree. A lot of military background allowed him to gain support and work his way through the underground network of political 'bad guys'.
 * Rubber, iron ore, and diamonds were his main concern...but mostly diamonds.
 * Paraphrased to have said that “Jesus Christ was accused of being a murderer in his time”.
 * Resigned from his Presidency after international pressure. Fled to Nigeria but forced to return.
 * Charged in March, 2003 by United Nations for various crimes of war and against humanity. Currently in protective custody in Hague, awaiting a special Sierra Leone trial for involvement in their civil war.

What started as a seemingly legitimate reason for overthrowing the government, turned into a selfish gain of wealth and an insatiable thirst for power. Both Sankoh and Taylor knew what kind of profit. They were looking at with the vast diamond mines and natural resource. Some defenders suggest that the situation all too quickly spread out of control and that they can't be held responsible for the murders that happened in the civil war. Others argue that they were responsible for creating the atmosphere for murder in the first place.

Other Important Leaders who worked directly beneath these men.
 * Issa Sesay - (born June 27, 1970 in Freetown, Sierra Leone) served as senior military officer and commander in the Revolutionary United Front. On March 7, 2003 he was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for crimes against humanity and other war crimes, including terrorizing civilians, collective punishments, unlawful killings, crimes against humanity, sexual violence, physical violence, use of child soldiers, abductions and forced labor, looting and burning, and attacks on UNAMSIL personnel. He pled not guilty at his initial court appearance. On February 25, 2009 Sesay was convicted for 16 out of the 18 charges he faced at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in Freetown.




 * Morris Kallon - also known as Bilai Karim (born 1 January 1964 in Bo, Sierra Leone), is a former Sierra Leonean rebel military commander in the Revolutionary United Front. In February 2009, he was convicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone on 16 of the 18 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes he was tried for.

> > Motivation: > > > Tactics:
 * Augustine Gbao - also known as Augustine Bao (born 13 August 1948 in Blama, Kenema), is a former Sierra Leonean paramilitary commander. In February 2009, he was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He was a senior commander in the Revolutionary United Front from 1991 until his capture in 2002.
 * The RUF was initially fueled by there resentment toward the Sierra Leone Government. They became more and more out of tact with their original goal and then begun taking over the land resource of diamonds. Their motivation through such tragic and terrible war crimes is the diamonds themselves. They need to gain more manpower to hold back these resources and up their profits.
 * The RUF goes into villages with semi-automatic rifles and machine guns in hopes of recruiting young men to aid their money-hungry regime.
 * Will kill anyone and everyone who oppose their purpose.
 * Kill some just for show
 * Take as many strong looking boys they can and sometimes kill off whomever else is left [|(Pg 34, paragraph 2)]
 * They would cut off the genitals of young men and place them in piles near their bleeding victims. [|(Pg 27, paragraph 2)]
 * RPG's were often used to breakdown groups of people who would run from soldiers in fear. [|(Pg 25, paragraph 1)] **