Conflict Diamonds

Conflict Diamonds
in Sierra Leone

Name:Muhanad Abdulla Al Shehhi

ID: H00049313
Section: CQM
 Conflict Diamonds
Sierra Leone’s Civil War and Its Links to
Diamonds – Key Facts/dates
The civil war has resulted in much of the country becoming
inaccessible to security forces, and also the major cause for
encouraging illegal mining and smuggling.

The war has transformed Sierra Leone into one of the poorest
countries in Africa.

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 Conflict Diamonds
The Winners – Who Are They and How
Have They Benefited?
• Meanwhile the rebels have a ready market on the other side -
officials are thief , and many of the diamond traders are
unlicensed, happy to buy stones - no questions asked.

• The rebels sell some of the gems for cash and exchange
others for weapons that keep this war going.

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 Conflict Diamonds

The Victims – Who Are They and

How Are They Affected?
• Between 1991 and 1999 the war took over
75,000 lives, caused half a million Sierra
Leoneans to become refugees and has
displaced half of the country's 4.5 million
people.
• The war was increase by diamond wealth and
killer, largely, by children and teenagers
resulting in a terror campaign on civilians.
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 Conflict Diamonds
Views From the Frontline - Personal
Stories or Quotes From People Living
in Sierra Leone.
• Many were used as esrvent. Others fled in their thousands only to die of
malaria in the jungle. Former miners like Tamba Lebie tell a common
story:
• "The rebels drove us out in 1992, we fled to another country. We went
and lived in Guinea like refugees. It was a constant working hard. We
came back and started to settle again, they drove us out again, burnt all
our houses, our cars, took our money, everything... It even got to the
point where you hid from the rebels, from the militia and even the
government soldiers."
• Tamba lost most of his family to the RUF rebels. Others suffered from
the criminals.

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 Conflict Diamonds

Signs of Hope After the End of Civil

War
• The war was scheduled to have ended by now. Two
years ago, after the rebels signed a peace treaty, the
United Nations sent in peacekeepers. There are now
12,000 of them here, the largest team anywhere in the
world.
But while UN troops patrol the streets of Freetown, the
rebels maintain their grip on most of the country —
where they occupy and profit from the country's vast
diamond deposits.

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 Conflict Diamonds

Conclusion

• Over all, this is a dangerous problems for

African societies. In my opinion this disaster
can’t be solved until these societies united
together against the criminal and the colonist.

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