On January 6th, 2009, Sierra Leoneans commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Revolutionary United Front rebel invasion of Freetown, the capital. The invasion which attracted a long overdue international intervention in the civil war was one of the bloodiest and most destructive battles. For over a month, RUF rebels, ECOMOG peacekeepers and militia loyal to the government of Tijan Kabbah fought for the control of Freetown.

A new police force plan to recruit youths in each community, to help fight the country-wide spate of armed robbery, has provoked controversy and sparked a nationwide debate. Communities are concerned that some area volunteers are known to be ex-child combatants, who may have participated in committing horrific atrocities against civilians.

Sierra Leone has made a strong start in compensating war victims but these are early days: Long-term government commitment and funding is needed, says an NGO which monitors progress in this area.

With Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma seeking to respond to the recent upsurge in armed robberies in the country's capital Freetown, Roland Bankole Marke discusses efforts at crime prevention in the country.

A US$4 million grant will help Sierra Leone to introduce major reform in its mining sector and revamp the industry. This follows the approval by the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank of a $4 million IDA grant for the Mining Technical Assistance Project (MTAP) in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone’s anti-corruption commissioner has a simple message for foreign investors coming to his country for its mines and oil — offer bribes and you could find yourself in prison.

The African Socialist International, in unity with other organizations of the Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations, proudly announces the launch of an international workers party that will begin contesting for state power in Sierra Leone.

Some 20,000 people wounded in Sierra Leone's war are receiving micro-grants as part of efforts to rebuild lives and livelihoods in the still fragile country. The initial grants of 300,000 leones (US$80) each are part of a government "reparations" programme, implemented by the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA).

A group of parents in Sierra Leone has accused a charity of sending more than 30 children abroad for adoption without consent during the country's civil war. The parents say they have no idea what happened to their children after they were handed over to Help a Needy Child International (Hanci).

Gibril Gottor, a reporter for Radio Kolenten, based in the Kambia district of northwestern Sierra Leone, was violently assaulted by a group of men on 10 October 2009 for allegedly "sabotaging" the government. The men are believed to be supporters of the ruling All People's Congress Party (APC).

The Acting Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Joseph Kamara, has welcomed the final convictions of three leaders of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The trial convictions of the RUF leaders were upheld by the SCSL Appeals Chamber, with Issa Sesay and Morris Kallon convicted on 16 counts and Augustine Gbao was convicted on 13 counts of an 18-count Indictment charging them with atrocities committed during Sierra Leone’s civil war.

Umaru Fofana looks dishevelled. His hair is overgrown and people who do not know him could be mistaken for thinking he just joined an Afro band. And his hanging beard will surely solicit suspicious glances. But Fofana is not some musician or an unkempt hobo. He is the president of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and his appearance is all for the cause of media freedom. The association petitioned the court for an interpretation and repeal of the criminal and seditious libel law contained in the Public Order Act of 1965.

The authorities in Sierra Leone have disputed a recent "alarming" report by the right group Amnesty International (AI) on the country's present maternal mortality rate. The report stated that one in every eight pregnant women in the country risk a chance of dying whiles giving birth and that six out of the 13 districts still have no emergency Obstetrical Care facility.

Over 4,000 people gathered in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Tuesday to attend the launch of Amnesty International's campaign to end maternal mortality in the country. Amnesty International's Secretary General, Irene Khan, told the assembled crow that having a baby should be a very happy occasion, “but, in so many houses it becomes a very sad occasion.

Land owners at Koya Chiefdom together with chiefdom elders and officials of Quifel have signed a 50 years land lease agreement for agricultural purposes. The ceremony took place at the Roman Catholic Hall in Masiaka on Friday 11th September, 2009 in the presence of officials from Quifel and legal practitioners representing both parties to the agreement.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/448/58800_think_pink-S_Leone_t… Marke speaks to Cremelda Pratt, the founder of Sierra Leone's , about the need for greater awareness about breast cancer and the future of her foundation.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/447/58608_barefoot_students_tm… is the engine of freedom, Roland Bankole Marke tells Pambazuka News, but with Sierra Leone’s public schools in a state of decay, the country’s poorest children are unlikely to break their way out of a life of deprivation. Given the lifestyles of politicians and their cronies, writes Bankole, the argument that the ‘government has no money to fund education in this donor driven economy, is bogus’. ‘If education is cumbersome or expensive,’ says Bankole, ‘who wants to try ignorance?’

The child rights act ratified in November 2008 in Sierra Leone criminalizes child labour, but some child rights experts say instead of prosecuting parents, the government should focus instead on getting children into school. “We don’t want to penalize or criminalize poverty. Many of these parents have few options,” said Annalisa Brusati, child and youth protection coordinator at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Sierra Leone. “The aim of the act is to reduce child labour, not to have everyone committing crimes. Parents need to be aware of how to make new choices,” she said.

Government’s refusal to pay the salaries of thousands teachers, while looking to recruit thousands more, has plunged the schooling system into crisis. With the new academic year poised to start, government and the national teachers’ union are still odds about payment for almost 3,000 teachers who have not received their salaries for over a year.

Once again, the source of an African conflict can be traced back to unsustainable demarcations of territories arbitrarily drawn by colonial powers and the resulting civil war, argues Lansana Gberie in this week's Pambazuka News. Drawing on interviews as well as personal experience of the Guinea–Sierra Leone border dispute, Gberie focuses on issues such as how the discovery of diamonds escalated the border conflict and proposes a set of steps needed – mainly through the involvement of ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West African States) – to see the dispute brought to an end.