Three Sierra Leoneans, Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon, and Augustine Gbao brutally assaulted and raped women, violently amputated and mutilated men, women and children in a ten-year civilian killing spree to amass diamonds.
The three Sierra Leonean rebel leaders, who indiscriminately spilt innocent blood for the sole purpose of controlling the country’s diamonds, have been arrested and charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, use of child soldiers among 16 other crimes,
The men were also linked with former Liberian president, Mr. Charles Taylor.
The trial of Charles Taylor, has been moved to The Hague for reasons of security. Both parties are said to have worked in mutual agreements to run the diamond fields of Sierra Leone so as to to finance their warfare.
At the end of the conflict over 120,000 people had been killed, and thousands left amputated and mutilated, without arms, legs, noses or ears.
According to reports, the three accused rebels committed the alleged atrocities during the 10 year-long civil war (1991-2001) as senior commanders of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).
However, their trial, which began 5 years ago, is yet to give its verdict, despite the prosecutors and jury hearing numerous amounts of shocking tales from prosecution witnesses of alleged rapes and killings at the hands of the rebel militias.
The trial will be the last to be held in the UN backed special court in Freetown, the country’s capital.
