Sierra Leone Celebrates the End of its Civil War

(Rapaport…January 21, 2002) Sierra Leone’s government held a weapons-burning ceremony on January 18 to celebrate the official end to the disarmament process and the civil war that has plagued the West African country for the past decade. President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and Ghana’s President John Kufuor lit a massive bonfire containing almost 3,000 rifles and automatic weapons. Interim Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leader Issa Sesay lauded the ceremony, saying it signifies the end of a cycle of violence and destruction.