Foday Sankoh
Foday Sankoh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Vice President of Sierra Leone | |
| In office 1999 – 17 May 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Albert Joe Demby |
| Succeeded by | Albert Joe Demby |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 17, 1937 Masang Mayoso, Sierra Leone Armed Forces |
| Years of service | 1956–1971 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Battles/wars | |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Sierra Leone Civil War |
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| Personalities |
| Armed forces |
| Key events |
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| Attempts at peace |
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| Political groups |
| Ethnic groups |
| See also |
Foday Saybana Sankoh (17 October 1937 – 29 July 2003) was a Sierra Leonean rebel leader who was the founder and commander of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group, which was supported by Charles Taylor-led NPFL in the 11-year-long Sierra Leone Civil War, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. An estimated 50,000 people were killed during the war, and over 500,000 people were displaced in neighboring countries.
Early life and career
Sankoh attended primary and secondary school in Magburaka, Tonkolili District and took on a number of jobs in Magburaka before he joined the Sierra Leone army in 1956. He undertook training in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. In 1971, then a corporal in the Sierra Leone army, he was cashiered from the army's signal corps and imprisoned for seven years at the Pademba Road Prison in Freetown for failing to inform authorities of an ultimately unsuccessful coup attempt against Siaka Stevens by his former ally John Amadu Bangura.[1]
On his release he worked as an itinerant photographer in the south and east of Sierra Leone, eventually coming in contact with young radicals.
Sankoh and confederates Rashid Mansaray and Abu Kanu solicited support for an armed uprising to oust the APC government. They then traveled to Liberia, where they reportedly continued recruiting and served with
Civil war
On 23 March 1991, the RUF, led by Foday Sankoh and backed by Charles Taylor, launched its first attack in villages in Kailahun District in the diamond-rich Eastern Province of Sierra Leone.
The RUF became notorious for brutal practices such as
In March 1997, Sankoh fled to
Arrest and charges
Sankoh was later arrested on 17 May 2000 after his soldiers gunned down a number of protesters, killing 19 people, including journalist Saoman Conteh, outside his Freetown home on 8 May 2000.[2] His arrest led to massive celebrations throughout Sierra Leone.[3][failed verification]
Sankoh was handed to the British. Under the
Death
Sankoh died in hospital of complications arising from a stroke whilst awaiting trial on the night of 29 July 2003.[5] In a statement by the UN-backed war crimes court, chief prosecutor David Crane said that Sankoh's death granted him "a peaceful end that he denied to so many others".[6]
References
- ISBN 978-0-19-936176-2.
- ^ "Attacks on the Press 2000: Sierra Leone". Committee to Protect Journalists. 19 March 2001.
- ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Foday Sankoh". 30 July 2003 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "Sierra Leone rebel leader Sankoh dies". The Independent. 30 July 2003.
- ^ "Foday Sankoh: The cruel rebel". 30 July 2003 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
External links
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