Lansana Fofana

ENVIRONMENT-SIERRA LEONE: Government Threatens to Tear Down Shacks

The migration of thousands of Sierra Leoneans to the capital of Freetown during the six-year civil war is beginning to take an environmental toll on the city, environmental experts say.

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: No Peace in Mineral-Rich Kono District

By Lansana Fofana

Remnants of the ousted Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) are waging a war of terror against villagers in Sierra Leone's eastern district of Kono, leaving many people without homes and on the verge of starvation.

SIERRA LEONE: Liberia Aids Former Junta Rebels, ECOMOG Says

By Lansana Fofana

A commander of the West African Peacekeeping Force (ECOMOG) in Sierra Leone has accused neighbouring Liberia of supporting the destabilisation campaign of the former junta forces.

HUMAN RIGHTS-SIERRA LEONE: Mass Graves Unearthed

By Lansana Fofana

The discovery of a series of mass graves in this West African nation has heightened fears for the lives of civilians still held hostage by remnants of a military junta ousted in late February and their rebel allies.

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Different Forms of Justice

By Lansana Fofana

Twenty-one members of Sierra Leone's former military government and civilians who collaborated with them appeared in court this week, while the Kamajor militia group meted out its own form of justice against former junta members and civilians in various parts of the country.

ECONOMY-SIERRA LEONE: Taking Back the Mines

By Lansana Fofana

Sierra Leone's government has put an abrupt halt to all foreign-owned gold and diamond mining in the country ahead of the announcement of a new national policy on mining.

DEVELOPMENT BULLETIN-SIERRA LEONE: United Nations And Donor Countries Offer Aid

By Lansana Fofana

The United Nation has embarked on a number of initiatives to help the Sierra Leone government rebuild the country's war-ravaged infrastructure and economy.

CHILDREN-SIERRA LEONE: Kids in Distress

By Lansana Fofana

Hundreds of orphans and former child soldiers face an uncertain future in Sierra Leone as the reinstated civilian government looks for strategies and funds to rehabilitate and reintegrate children back into society.

DEVELOPMENT-SIERRA LEONE: UN, Donors Come to the Rescue

By Lansana Fofana

The United Nations has embarked on a number of initiatives to help the Sierra Leone government rebuild the country's war-ravaged infrastructure and economy.

DEVELOPMENT-SIERRA LEONE: UN, Donors Come to the Rescue

By Lansana Fofana

The United Nations has embarked on a number of initiatives to help the Sierra Leone government rebuild the country's war-ravaged infrastructure and economy.

SIERRA LEONE: Govt Wants Junta Members Returned For Trial

By Lansana Fofana

Sierra Leone's civilian government wants former members of the military regime arrested and extradited from neighbouring countries to stand trial for the various atrocities committed during the nine-month rule of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council's (AFRC).

SIERRA LEONE-EDUCATION: The Legacy of Military Rule

By Lansana Fofana

One of the biggest challenges facing Sierra Leone's newly restored government is rehabilitating an education sector that received a battering during the anarchy that characterised military rule in the West African nation.

RELIGION-SIERRA LEONE: Rastafarians On the Run

By Lansana Fofana

Members of Sierra Leone's Rastafarian Movement, known as the 'Twelve Tribes of Israel', are shedding their dreadlocks and hiding out after the fall of the military junta.

POLITICS-GUINEA: Weak Opposition Stands Little Chance at Polls

By Lansana Fofana

With barely nine months to go before Guinea's presidential elections, opposition politicians and human rights groups have accused the government of Gen. Lansana Conte of creating an environment not conducive to free and fair polls.

CULTURE-SIERRA LEONE: Rastafarians in the Run

By Lansana Fofana

Members of Sierra Leone's Rastafarian Movement, known as the 'Twelve Tribes of Israel', are shedding their dreadlocks and hiding out after the fall of the military junta.

DISARMANENT-SIERRA LEONE: Landmines Threaten Residents’ Security

By Lansana Fofana

The Task Force Commander of the West African Peacekeeping Force (ECOMOG) in Sierra Leone has warned the population of the potential danger of landmines planted by the deposed military junta.

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Task Force Paints Gloomy Picture

By Lansana Fofana

After an intensive week-long assessment of the socio-economic and political situation in Sierra Leone, a 10-member Task Force appointed by former President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah Friday presented a gloomy picture of the country.

POPULATION-SIERRA LEONE: Refugees Begin to Return Home

By Lansana Fofana

The first set of Sierra Leonean refugees who fled the country following last year's military coup have started to return home from neighbouring Conkary, Guinea.

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: RUF Rebels On the Rampage in the North

By Lansana Fofana

While Sierra Leoneans in some parts of the country continue to enjoy an atmosphere of peace due to the presence of West African Peacekeeping troops, the northern regional capital of Makeni is filled with former junta forces who have gone on the rampage.

SIERRA LEONE: AFRC Junta and Kamajors Battle to Control Diamonds

By Lansana Fofana

The diamond-rich town of Tongo Fields has become a strategic target in the military junta's ongoing conflict with the Kamajors, who are fighting to restore the deposed civilian government of Ahmed Tejan Kabbah.

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Military Junta Violates Sanctions

By Lansana Fofana

Sierra Leone's deposed leader Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and members of the exiled community have expressed concern over the frequent violations of the sanctions imposed on the military junta in Freetown.