As a result of the Civil War, many civilians have been mutilated, and such crimes as rape and murder were rampant throughout the country.
Child soldiers are commonplace, with a quarter of the government's forces being children under the age of 18.
The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) took over the country in the 1990's.
The RUF traded the conflict diamonds for weapopns, which fueled the civil war in Sierra Leone.
The RUF killed over 50,000 people and displaced (acts such as rape and amputating limbs) over 1,000,000 people.
Diamonds were, and still are to some extent the fuel behind illegal activity in Sierra Leone despite the bans on their mining. The movie "Blood Diamond" is based on this idea.
Article About War Crimes
"Conflict Diamonds"
GLOBAL ISSUES: Blood Diamond