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Vol 38 No 12

Published 6th June 1997


Sierra Leone

Koroma's coup

It was easy, inept and very bloody. The coup has shattered the hope raised by the brief return of peace and democracy

Major Johnny Paul Koroma's 25 May coup d'état (the third change of regime by force in five years) was the most bloody and destructive in Sierra Leone's history. Nigeria's naval bombardment of the Cockerill military barracks on 2 June strengthened the resolve of Koroma's Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). Nationalist appeals helped win over the Sierra Leone Army (SLA), which was also bolstered by battle-hardened fighters from Foday Sankoh's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the United Liberation Movement of Liberia (Ulimo-J).

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