Sierra Leone commemorates ten years end of civil war

Written by Kelvin Lamdo / Wednesday, 18 January 2012 21:17
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Sierra Leone commemorates ten years end of civil war
Sierra Leone’s decade long civil war that ended ten years ago was officially declared over on the 18th January, with the words “de war don don.” This resulted in the disarmament of tens of thousands of rebels and militia fighters

during the signing of a peace treaty between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front RUF. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, the then president of Sierra Leone declared the end of the war. He said that even though his predecessors were unable to end the war, his determination and experience as a former district commissioner in Sierra Leone, with the help of some international organizations helped to bring the war to an end.

Eldred Collins was the spokesperson for the RUF, and the current interim leader of the RUFP. He said the event of ending the war in 2002 was the symbolic end to physical hostilities, but there was still a psychological war among some Sierra Leoneans.

The United Nations has been in Sierra Leone since 1996, with the largest number of Peace Keepers in the country. Michael Schulenburg, the ERSG in Sierra Leone says peace in Sierra Leone from the UN perspective is a success story, noting that it is an ongoing process involving different stakeholders in the country.

The anniversary comes just days after political violence erupted in a bye-election in ward 369 in Freetown, which has raised many questions about the fragility of the peace in the country.

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