Kamajors

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The Kamajors are a group of traditional hunters of the Mende tribe in the south and east of Sierra Leone . Most of them live in Bo District . Kamajors, from Mende came soh , means "hunter with mystical powers".

Younger story

During the civil war in Sierra Leone , the Kamajors under their tribal leader Samuel Hinga Norman replaced the South African mercenary troops from Executive Outcomes in 1996 at the request of incumbent President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah . The Kamajor were part of the Civil Defense Forces . The troops, more than 20,000 strong, fought alongside the Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF). The Kamajors became part of the ECOMOG troops in Sierra Leone to bring Ahmad Tejan Kabbah back to power in 1998.

In 1999 Freetown was captured by the rebel forces of the Revolutionary United Front , supported by Charles Taylor and led by Foday Sankoh , along with the defected Sierra Leone Armed Forces . The Kamajors and the UN protection force of ECOMOG opposed this.

Due to the extremely violent actions of Kamajors, even against the Sierra Leonean civilians, their leader Samuel Hinga Norman was before the Special Court for Sierra Leone for crimes against humanity indicted. He died before the verdict was pronounced.

On the one hand, the Kamajors actively contributed to the pacification of Sierra Leone, but were hated in many places because of their brutality and their primary goal of trading in blood diamonds . They have also actively recruited child soldiers . Nevertheless, they were revered as heroes by a large part of the population , as they brought back peace.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Steve Riley: Sierra Leone: The Militariat Strikes Again , In: Review of African Political Economy , Issue 24, No. 72, Taylor & Francis, June 1997, pp. 287-292.
  2. ^ Kamajors / CDF movement, Sierra Leone. CRW Flags, November 25, 2013.