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| Republic of Sierra Leone Ripɔblik fɔ Siera Liɔn | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
.svg.png) | |
| Capital | Freetown |
| Official languages | English |
| Recognized national languages | Krio |
| Dominant mode of production | Capitalism |
| Government | Unitary presidential republic |
• President | Julius Maada Bio |
| Area | |
• Total | 71,740 km² |
| Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 8,908,040 |
Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is an African country on the Atlantic Ocean bordered by Liberia and Guinea.[1]
History
Civil War
The Revolutionary United Front Party (RUFP) was founded in the 1980s to overthrow Sierra Leone's neocolonial government and put its diamonds under native control. By the late 1990s, the RUFP controlled much of the country. After negotiations in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone agreed to form a coalition government with the RUFP leader Foday Sankoh. The West rejected this agreement and imposed rigged elections won by the British puppet Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.[1]
Kabbah sent his British-funded secret police to burn pro-RUFP villages and behead their inhabitants. After the military overthrew him, ECOMOG (ECOWAS Monitoring Force) created a land and water blockade and bombed all ships trying to bring in humanitarian supplies. The Clinton regime sanctioned Sierra Leone until Kabbah returned to power.[1]
After Kabbah's rule was restored, the British sent pro-apartheid South African mercenaries to defend his regime. Foday Sankoh died in prison under the neocolonial regime.[1]