The forced recruitment of child soldiers by the Revolutionary United Front (henceforth the RUF) and the rebels’ atrocious behaviour against civilians are the most frequently featured aspects of this war. After he was found guilty of ‘aiding and abetting the war crimes during the Sierra Leone civil war’ in the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone on April 26 2012, one victim, whose forearms were amputated during the war, indignantly talked to the BBC: ‘Taylor deserves 100 years in jail for his role in the atrocities’ (BBC April 26 2012). The recent trial of former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, clearly reveals the indelible scars left to people even ten years after the official declaration of end of the war. However, the conflict has not completely finished yet some features of brutality and viciousness in the conflict are still lingering in the minds and bodies of Sierra Leoneans. The decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone formally ended in January 2002 following the British government’s successful military intervention to suppress rebel insurgents. For the young fighter, it is injustice.’ (William Reno 2003, p. ‘ To the economist, this is war motivated by greed.

‘The root of the conflict is and remains diamonds, diamonds and diamonds.’ (Ibrahim Kamara 2000)

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