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.

The NPRC Coup

On the 29th of April 1992 the ineffectual government of President Momoh was brought to a swift and unexpected end. A military coup by junior SLA officers ended fifteen years of one-party rule by the All People's Congress (APC). The new government - the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) led by Captain Valentine Strasser – was determined to fight the RUF more effectively. In testimony to the TRC, Strasser explained:

"Fundamentally why the Army, in my view, took a decision to go for a regime change was because troops in the front had not the support that they needed to fight the war. Rations were not available; re-enforcements were not available; re-supplies were not available. Officers and men were losing their lives... So it became evident that the Government was negligent in the handling of the war."

After coming to power the NPRC launched a massive recruitment drive, tripling the size of the army to 10,000 troops in the following 3 years. However recruits were often of low calibre, receiving only basic training. Though in no way comparable to the RUF, SLA soldiers had been involved in looting and other abuses since the war began. The addition of undisciplined troops would likely make these problems worse.

At the end of the year an attempt to overthrow the NPRC was defeated. Some of the organisers of this failed coup were tortured by the NPRC's vice-chairman, Captain SAJ Musa, before they were summarily executed. Though he was not involved in the coup plot, the popular and capable army officer Lieutenant Colonel Yaya Kanu was also put to death. Thus the year finished with a government that was more committed to fighting the war. But this same government was recklessly recruiting an undisciplined army and, having executed its opponents, it was also failing to respect basic rights.

Further key events of 1992 are:

• The RUF/NPFL power struggle that comes to a head in Pendembu.
• The attack on Koidu and the larger story of how diamonds affected the conlifct.

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Expanding on the outline given here, the TRC report chapter The Military and Political History of the Conflict gives a comprehensive account of the rise of the NPRC, including the detail of how the coup was planned and executed (from paragraph 273).