Chiefdom Shading Key:

	No violations reported (in statements to the TRC)
	Less than 25 violations reported
	25 or more violations reported

Note: Chiefdoms are shaded according to the number of violations recorded in the TRC's statements. Unreported violations may have occurred in chiefdoms where none are shown. Also the reporting of violations within a chiefdom does not imply that the abuse occurred at a particular location within that chiefdom. Outliers are excluded where evidence supports this decision. See the methodology for further explanation.

1991 - The War Begins

The war started on the 23rd of March 1991 when NPFL fighters attacked Bomaru. Within days forces totalling around 2,000 fighters entered Pujehun and Kailahun districts. Consistent with this, the map shows that reported violations are concentrated in these districts. The attackers identified themselves as 'Freedom Fighters' of the Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone. They announced that they intended to overthrow the APC regime and were under the leadership of 'Corporal Foday Sankoh'.

In reality, the Commission determined that around 80% of the 1991 invasion force were actually Liberian fighters. Sankoh's Camp Namma trainees followed in the wake of the more experienced NPFL insurgents.

At this stage the RUF/NPFL were fighting a conventional war, capturing towns and seizing territory. When a town was captured the fighters often asserted their control by humiliating the Chief, forcing him to strip naked before his people. Reflecting these events, the graph below illustrates that such abuses were a strongly reported feature of the first year of the war.

Referring to the map again, hover over a chiefdom with the mouse or click on it to reveal the reported violation count. It's clear that the attacks extended beyond Pujehun into parts of Bo and Bonthe districts whilst the force that entered Kailahun also entered chiefdoms in the Kenema and Kono districts. The link to "The Fight for Daru" describes a key battle that would determine whether the RUF could advance further into the country. Meanwhile the story of "General Vandy in Zimmi" asks whether the RUF could inspire popular support.

Source: Violations reported in statements to the TRC. Note that the "Sexual Abuse" violation primarily records cases where victims where forced to remove their clothes.

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• The 1991 events are drawn from the TRC report chapter, The Military and Political History of the Conflict (from paragraph 84).
• See the TRC Statistical Appendix for the complete set of graphs of conflict violations over time.