Outbreak of the Sierra Leone Civil War

Date: March 23, 1991 • Location: Rome, Italy

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1991–2002.

The Sierra Leone Civil War began with the invasion of the Revolutionary United Front, in an attempt to overthrow President Joseph Saidu Momoh.

The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002) was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government. The resulting civil war lasted almost 11 years, and had over 50,000, up to 70,000, casualties in total; an estimated 2.5 million people were displaced during the conflict, and widespread atrocities occurred.