SIERRA LEONE-POLITICS: Peace Process Under Siege From All Sides

By Lansana Fofana Reprint | | Print |

Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Mar 7 1997 (IPS) - An attack in which 14 government soldiers were killed has added a new dimension to the problems besetting a peace process launched by a three-month-old accord between Sierra Leone’s government and rebels.

Since the Freetown administration and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) signed the peace pact on Nov. 30 last, there have been many clashes between RUF rebels and a paramilitary force of traditional hunters called Kamajors who fought on the government’s side during the 1992-1996 rebel war.

However, Thursday’s clash was different, involving supposed Kamajors, on the one hand, and government soldiers on the other. It occurred near the settlement of Magburaka, 20 kms from the northern town of Makeni.

According to a survivor, a group of soldiers were accosted by Kamajors who accused them of being rebels. “Even when we explained to them that we were soldiers and that we were on patrol to comb the area of marauding rebels, the Kamajors would not listen,” he said. “They simply opened fire on us at point blank range, killing 14 of my colleagues.”

Lt. Col. Gabriel Mani, commander of the military brigade in Makeni, 150 kms north of Freetown, suggested that the attackers could have been rebels.

“It was all a case of mistaken identity and the antics of rebels who disguise themselves as Kamajors and attack government positions,” he said. “This acrimony has to be resolved immediately if the soldiers and Kamajors are to work together in maintaining a cordial relationship.”

The Kamajors became involved in Sierra Leone’s war in 1994, when the morale of the soldiers appeared to be sinking following gains by the RUF on the battlefield.

The then military government engaged their services in the hope that, given their alleged mystical powers — they are believed to be able to appear and disappear at will — they would drive fear into the rebels, bolster the morale of the soldiers and turn the tide of the war.

However, relations between the allies later degenerated, leading to bloody clashes between them. The worst incident was recorded in mid-1996 when soldiers attacked and massacred over 100 Kamajors in the east and south of the country in circumstances that have still not been clarified.

The latest incident is likely to cause further bad blood between the two groups, says military analyst Francis Deen. “It is going to be very difficult for the soldiers and Kamajors to work together because of mutual suspicion,” he said. “Already, lots of blood has been shed and so it would take time to heal the wounds.”

“The unfortunate aspect is that the Kamajors seem to have been thoroughly pampered by the civilian government and I think that’s dangerous,” added Deen.

Some soldiers feel that they were better off before the National Provisional Ruling Council, the military government that had ruled Sierra Leone since 1992, ceded power to a civilian administration following general elections held in March 1996.

Some senior army officials who had allegedly benefitted illegally from the war and the fact that the NPRC was in power are reportedly dissatisfied with the exit of the military regime.

There have been reports of soldiers defecting to the RUF and others have expressed their unwillingness to pursue the military option now that the peace agreement appears to be breaking down.

“Who am I going to die for? A civilian regime that does not care about the welfare of soldiers or a people that are ungrateful?” one private asked IPS. “After all, let the Kamajors fight. It is their day now.”

Diplomats here are worried that the November accord is in jeopardy. “We know of several cases of cease-fire violations in the north and southeast and the delays in the implementation of the terms of the agreement may allow room for an escalation of the hostilities,” a Western envoy commented Friday to IPS.

The only group liable to benefit from the latest incident is the RUF, which has been waging a running battle with the Kamajors since the accord.

The rebels, who have not been reporting to disarmament camps set up throughout the country, might be tempted to escalate their attacks given the disunity in the state’s camp.