West Side Boys
West Side Boys | |
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Leader | Foday Kallay |
Dates of operation | 1998–2000 |
Active regions | Occra Hills, |
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 |
The West Side Boys, also known as the West Side Niggaz or the West Side Junglers,[1] were an armed group in Sierra Leone, sometimes described as a splinter faction of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council.
They captured and held peacekeepers from the
The group was influenced to some extent by American
Many members of the group were
Description
At the time that the West Side Boys were active, large areas of Sierra Leone were controlled by militias. However, there existed no provable connections to the main rebel group in Sierra Leone, the Revolutionary United Front.
Frequently the subject of British media, due in part to their kidnapping of British soldiers and their flamboyant character, as reported by the BBC: "They were known for wearing bizarre clothing – women's wigs and flip-flops were favourites – and being almost perpetually drunk."[4]
A 2008 article published in the Journal of Modern African Studies offers an alternative view of the West Side Boys as an effective military unit employing military and political techniques to achieve defined goals, as opposed to a criminal gang with no political purpose engendered by the perpetual lawlessness and social breakdown of the country.[5]
References
- ^ a b Sherwell, Philip (3 September 2000). "Caught with their guard down". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ Reno, William (February 2003), Political Networks in a Failing State The Roots and Future of Violent Conflict in Sierra Leone, Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft, International Politics and Society, archived from the original on 23 July 2008, retrieved 21 April 2008
- ^ Fofana, Lansana "SIERRA LEONE: Rap Star’s T-shirt A Major Factor In Conflict", Inter Press Service, October, 1998, retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ "Who are the West Side Boys?". BBC News. 31 August 2000. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
- S2CID 54963975.
Bibliography
- Operation Certain Death, ISBN 978-0099466420