The Liberated Zone refers to the territory that the Revolutionary United Front controlled, the RUF itself called their areas "Liberated Zone".
Territory The Revolutionary United Front started their takeover of territories at the start of the Sierra Leone Civil War on 23 March 1991, in one month they took almost all of the Eastern Province. They took over areas in which diamond mines existed, mostly in the east, they put their sight on these areas to finance themselves. With the diamonds they bought weapons from Charles Taylor, or soldiers were trained in exchange. In early 1995 the RUF moved within several miles of Freetown. In 2000 the RUF almost controlled all of Sierra Leone, except for the capital city Freetown.
Governance From 1991 until 1995, the Liberated Zone was under limited martial rule.
Military Recruitment The RUF took advantage of the refugees, who were abandoned, starving, and in dire need of medical attention, by promising food, shelter, medical care, and looting and mining profits in return for their support. When this method of recruitment failed, as it often did for the RUF, youths were often coerced at gunpoint to join the ranks of the RUF. After being kidnapped or forced to join, many child soldiers learned that the complete lack of law – as a result of the civil war – provided a unique opportunity for self-empowerment through violence and thus continued to support the rebel cause.Gberie, Lansana (2005). A Dirty War in West Africa: The RUF and the Destruction of Sierra Leone. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-21855-1. OCLC 67774535.
Economy Diamond mining Some people that lived in the Liberated Zone were forced to work in diamond mines. The estimated of the volume of RUF diamonds vary widely, from $25 million per annum to $125 million, with this the RUF military activity sustained.
Health care The Liberated Zone claimed that they provided limited health care, similar to other sectors like schooling, housing and seedlings. The US Department of State reported in 2000 that the people don't have access to the most basic social services like health care and education.
See also Greater Liberia
References