[20] Lansana was later tried and found guilty of treason, and sentenced to death in 1975. [66] Bureh surrendered on 11 November 1898 to end the destruction of his people's territory and dwellings. In other words, the population of Sierra Leone has grown almost three and half times it was in 1963 (2,180,355). ", War and state collapse: The case of Sierra Leone, "NPRC's Komba Kambo Speaks After Eleven Years Of Silence! [103][165], Population density varies greatly within Sierra Leone. Each of the country's 14 districts is represented in parliament. The country has three universities: Fourah Bay College, founded in 1827 (the oldest university in West Africa),[214] University of Makeni (established initially in September 2005 as The Fatima Institute, the college was granted university status in August 2009, and assumed the name University of Makeni, or UNIMAK), and Njala University, primarily located in Bo District. The Limba are primarily found in Northern Sierra Leone, particularly in Bombali, Kambia and Koinadugu District. Although women account for about 50 per cent of the population in Sierra Leone, only 28 per cent are household heads. In 1462, Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra mapped the hills surrounding what is now Freetown Harbour, naming the shaped formation Serra da Leoa or "Serra Leoa" (Portuguese for Lioness Mountains). Since independence, the Limba have traditionally been influential in Sierra Leone's politics, along with the Mende. By the 1990s, economic activity was declining and economic infrastructure had become seriously degraded. [128][129], Excessive police brutality is also a frequent problem. The demonstration was quickly put down by the army and Stevens' own personal Special Security Division (SSD), a heavily armed paramilitary force he had created to protect him and maintain his hold on power. In total, there are 20 cities in Sierra Leone. [161], In 2019 Sierra Leone had a population of 7,813,215[164] and a growth rate of 2.216% a year. The president is the highest and most influential position within the government of Sierra Leone. Calm was not completely restored. [126] The military seized control in 1968, bringing the National Reformation Council into power. The largest and most influential are the Temne at about 35.5% and the Mende at about 33.2%. The population of Bo is estimated at about 233,684 . The largest district geographically, Koinadugu, has a much lower density of 21.4 persons per square km. Several Junior army officers led by Sergeant Mohamed Lamin Bangura were identified as being behind the coup plot. Since then, there has been a smooth succession to the presidency all via elections. On 16 January 1996, after about four years in power, Strasser was arrested in a palace coup staged by his fellow NPRC soldiers led by Brigadier Bio at the Defence Headquarters in Freetown. Nearly 20,000 Liberian refugees voluntarily returned to Liberia over the course of 2007. In his first public broadcast to the nation following the 1996 coup, Brigadier Bio stated that his support for returning Sierra Leone to a democratically elected civilian government and his commitment to ending the civil war were his motivations for the coup. At the end of the 19th century, the industry went into decline, and when radio was introduced in the 1930s, it became the primary communication media in the country. The much smaller Vai and Kru peoples are primarily found in Kailahun and Pujehun Districts near the border with Liberia. Each one of Sierra Leone's sixteen administrative districts (with the exception of the Western Area Urban District) is governed by a directly elected district council headed by a council chairman. Four of the Sierra Leone regions are provinces, and the capital city is located on a peninsula called the Western Area. Waterloo is located about twenty miles east of Freetown. Next to the president is the vice-president, who is the second highest-ranking government official in the executive branch of the Sierra Leone Government. About 2% of the country's population are Creole people, descendants of freed African-American and Afro-Caribbean slaves. FM relays of the BBC World Service (in Freetown, Bo, Kenema and Makeni), Radio France Internationale (Freetown only) and Voice of America (Freetown only) are also broadcast. [156] The majority of the population relies on biomass fuels for their daily survival, with firewood and coal used most prevalently. . There are two mountain ranges in this province, and it is one of two provinces without any coastline. [84] He cancelled Juxon-Smith's construction of a church and mosque on the grounds of Victoria Park (now known as Freetown Amusement Park since 2017). In 2001, UN forces moved into rebel-held areas and began to disarm rebel soldiers. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 90.2 (2012): 120-127F. In 1995 Defence Headquarters was established, and the Sierra Leone Air Wing formed. They are locally known as Sierra Leonean-Lebanese. In 1992, just a year after the war broke out, President Momoh was ousted in a coup led by Sierra Leone Army captain Valentine Strasser. The vast majority of the Mende support the Sierra Leone People's Party; while the majority of the Temne support the All People's Congress.[208]. On 19 July 1975, 14 senior army and government officials, including David Lansana, former cabinet minister Mohamed Sorie Forna (father of writer Aminatta Forna), Brigadier General Ibrahim Bash Taqi and Lieutenant Habib Lansana Kamara were executed after being convicted of attempting a coup to topple president Stevens' government. On 19 October 1998, 24 soldiers in the Sierra Leone armyincluding Gborie, Brigadier Hassan Karim Conteh, Colonel Samuel Francis Koroma, Major Kula Samba and Colonel Abdul Karim Sesaywere executed by firing squad after they were convicted in a court martial in Freetown, some for orchestrating the 1997 coup that overthrew President Kabbah and others for failure to reverse the mutiny.[94]. The RSLMF was renamed as the Armed Forces of the Republic of Sierra Leone (AFRSL). Found inside - Page 93The Kissi are one of the oldest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone, . This left them traumatised, with an estimated 400,000 people (by 2009) being mentally ill. Thousands of former child soldiers have fallen into substance abuse as they try to blunt their memories. Makeni is also the fourth largest city in the country. Bio replaced outgoing President Ernest Bai Koroma after Bio was sworn into office on 4 April 2018 by Chief Justice Abdulai Cham. [74][75] Thousands of Sierra Leoneans took to the streets in celebration. [187] The United Council of Imams, is an influential Islamic religious body in Sierra Leone, that is made up of all imams of mosques throughout Sierra Leone. [42] William Pitt the Younger, prime minister and leader of the Tory party, had an active interest in the Scheme because he saw it as a means to repatriate the Black Poor to Africa, since "it was necessary they should be sent somewhere, and be no longer suffered to infest the streets of London". Makeni is home to the largest private university in Sierra Leone; University of Makeni and St. Francis Secondary School which is one of Sierra Leone's most prominent schools. Bio would then return the country back to a democratic republic in 1996 through a general election. This environment protected its people from conquest by the Mandinka and other African empires,[30][31] and limited the influence of the Mali Empire. In October 2000, a UN-approved certification system for exporting diamonds from the country was put in place and led to a dramatic increase in legal exports. During his first decade or so in power, Stevens renegotiated some of what he called "useless prefinanced schemes" contracted by his predecessors, both Albert Margai of the SLPP and Juxon-Smith of the NRC. The provinces of Sierra Leone are divided into 16 districts, as of July 2017. What Are The Biggest Industries In Sierra Leone? It is a flat, low-lying, and frequently flooded plain that is between 5 and 25 miles (8 and 40 km) wide and is composed mainly of sands and clays. It is listed among countries of concern for emissions, as having Low Forest Cover with High Rates of Deforestation (LFHD). Eventually, with some more recruitment, 411 passengers sailed to Sierra Leone in April 1787. Sierra Leone has a total area of 71,740km2 (27,699sqmi), divided into a land area of 71,620km2 (27,653sqmi) and water of 120km2 (46sqmi). Many senior officers in the Sierra Leone Army were greatly disappointed with Stevens' policies and his handling of the Sierra Leone Military, but none could confront Stevens. On 25 May 1997, 17 soldiers in the Sierra Leone army led by Corporal Tamba Gborie, loyal to the detained Major Johnny Paul Koroma, launched a military coup which sent President Kabbah into exile in Guinea and they established the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). [156] Part of the reason for this was due to the import duties and taxes and the lack of quality control. Stations mainly consist of local commercial stations with a limited broadcast range, combined with a few stations with national coverage Capital Radio Sierra Leone being the largest of the commercial stations. The three least populated districts are Karene, Falaba, and Koinadugu with 3.8%, 2.2%, and 2.7% respectively of the total population. Sierra Leone has one of the world's largest deposits of rutile, a titanium ore used as paint pigment and welding rod coatings. 113,185 (2015); Katu Town Urban Area: pop. In Freetown there no particular ethnic group that dominates the population since it is home to all of Sierra Leone's people. The Susu and Yalunka are both descendants of migrants from Guinea; they both are virtually all Muslims at over 99%. The hostage crisis resulted in more fighting between the RUF and the government as UN troops launched Operation Khukri to end the siege. Sherbro was influential and powerful and the British greatly feared him. Despite efforts by the government and numerous non-governmental organisations, access has not much improved since the end of the Sierra Leone Civil War in 2002, stagnating at about 50% and even declining in rural areas. Sierra Leone has a vibrant Ahmaddiya Muslim population, especially in the southern city of Bo, which is home to a large Ahmadiyya Muslim population. [176] Most of Sierra Leone's ethnic groups are Muslim majority, including the country's two largest ethnic groups: the Mende and Temne. The rice is prepared in numerous ways, and topped with a variety of sauces made from some of Sierra Leone's favourite toppings, including potato leaves, cassava leaves, crain crain, okra soup, fried fish and groundnut stew.[244]. It is from these hills that the major rivers in the district. The coup plot led to the execution of seventeen soldiers by firing squad. [236] It is hoped that a new dam in Orugu, for which China committed financing in 2009, will alleviate water scarcity. The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, which is located within the peninsula's vast rainforest reserve, just a few kilometres from the centre of Freetown, has a collection of rare and endangered chimpanzees. Sierra Leone became an independent, sovereign state on 27 April 1961 with Milton Margai as its Prime Minister. In June 2005, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and BirdLife International agreed to support a conservation-sustainable development project in the Gola Forest in south eastern Sierra Leone,[113] an important surviving fragment of rainforest in Sierra Leone. A woman can be the head of the house only if she remains single for the rest of her life. The discussions eventually concluded with key stakeholders, including Bio's administration and the UN, agreeing that while efforts in finding a peaceful solution to ending the war should continue, a general election should be held as soon as possible. The large majority of SLPP members backed Albert Margai over Karefa-Smart. Cultural events and festivals are also organized in the city on a regular basis. He created several government institutions that are still in use today. [110], Until 2002, Sierra Leone lacked a forest management system because of the civil war that caused tens of thousands of deaths. [99] On 16 March 2016, the World Health Organization declared Sierra Leone to be free from Ebola.[100]. The Sierra Leone National Premier League is the top professional football league in Sierra Leone and is controlled by the Sierra Leone Football Association. Humphrey J. Fisher (1969), "Elections and Coups in Sierra Leone, 1967". But at the equivalent tournament in 2006, Division Three of the African region of the World Cricket League, it finished as runner-up to Mozambique, and just missed promotion to Division Two. [156] To ensure that the Energy Africa goal is met, Sierra Leone has agreed to remove its import duties and Value Added Tax (VAT) on certified solar products. [150] Rice is the most important staple crop in Sierra Leone with 85 per cent of farmers cultivating rice during the rainy season[151] and an annual consumption of 76kg per person.[152]. Many Ahmadiyya Muslims in Sierra Leone also follow the Maliki Jurisprudence. [106], Human activities claimed to be responsible or contributing to land degradation in Sierra Leone include unsustainable agricultural land use, poor soil and water management practices, deforestation, removal of natural vegetation, fuelwood consumption and to a lesser extent overgrazing and urbanisation. If no candidate gets 55%, there is a second-round runoff between the top two candidates. Bombali District, Sierra Leone map with nearby places of interest (Wikipedia articles, food, lodging, parks, etc). In November 1951, Margai oversaw the drafting of a new constitution, which united the separate Colonial and Protectorate legislatures and provided a framework for decolonisation. [101], Sierra Leone is located on the southwest coast of West Africa, lying mostly between latitudes 7 and 10N (a small area is south of 7), and longitudes 10 and 14W. Sierra Leone is a country in the western region of Africa bordering Liberia, Guinea, and the Atlantic Ocean. It is a sweet, lightly fermented palm wine,[245] and is found in bars in towns and villages across the country. Headquarters district formed from coastal sections of Karene and Ronietta. [93], Promises of a return to civilian rule were fulfilled by Bio. The populations quoted above for the five largest cities are from the 2004 census. Rulers who had been kings and queens became instead paramount chiefs, some of them appointed by the administration, and then forced into a subordinate relationship. Native to Sierra Leone, they have occupied Sherbro Island since it was founded. Bo is closely behind Kenema with 10.0%, whilst Western Rural, Kono and Western Area Urban with 8.8%, 8.2%, and 8.1% are third, fourth and fifth respectively. [54] The Liberated Africans eventually modified their customs to adopt those of the Nova Scotians, Maroons and Europeans, yet kept some of their ethnic traditions. His people 's territory and dwellings ] Bureh surrendered on 11 November 1898 to end the of... 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