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Rebel Foday Sankoh Dies in Sierra Leone
Associated Press ^ | 30th July, 2003 | By CLARENCE ROY MACAULAY

Posted on 07/30/2003 7:06:46 AM PDT by propertius

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone - Foday Sankoh, an indicted Sierra Leone war criminal whose rebel forces were notorious for hacking off the limbs, lips and ears of civilians, died in U.N. custody at a Freetown hospital, the war-crimes court said Wednesday. He was 65.

Sankoh died late Tuesday, said David Hecht, spokesman for the U.N.-Sierra Leone war crimes court. No cause of death was given, but Sankoh reportedly suffered a mild stroke after his capture in early 2000 and had been ill and disoriented.

The court's chief prosecutor, American David Crane, said Sankoh's death from natural causes granted him "a peaceful end that he denied to so many others."

A former wedding photographer and Sierra Leone soldier, Sankoh trained in the Cold War guerrilla camps of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. His companions there included Charles Taylor of neighboring Liberia (news - web sites) — also indicted by the United Nations (news - web sites) as an alleged principal culprit in the 10-year Sierra Leone terror campaign.

Sankoh's Revolutionary United Front, founded in Libya in 1988-89, launched the insurgency in 1991, bent on winning control of Sierra Leone's government and diamond fields.

His drugged, drunk rebels became notorious for killing, raping, maiming and kidnapping tens of thousands of civilians.

Sankoh was captured in early 2000 after his fighters gunned down more than a dozen protesters outside his Freetown home. He had been in U.N. custody in prisons and hospitals since.

Forceful military intervention by Britain, Guinea and the United Nations crushed the rebels, and Sierra Leone formally declared the war over in early 2002 and soon held peaceful elections. Sankoh's rebel group stood candidates for parliament, but received no seats.

A roughly 13,000-strong U.N. force — the body's largest deployment worldwide — is guarding Sierra Leone's fragile peace.

Sankoh, born Oct. 17, 1937, faced a 17-count indictment before the war-crimes court as well as separate charges in a Sierra Leone national court.

Authorities said in October 2002 that he suffered what they first called a mild stroke. The war-crimes court said in June it was pursuing a waiver on a U.N. travel ban against Sankoh so it could send him outside Sierra Leone for treatment.

The court's acting chief of defense, John Jones, said then that Sankoh was in a "catatonic, stuporous state."

In June 2002, in one of his last court hearings in which he spoke, the rebel leader appeared disheveled, his hair in matted white dreadlocks. His comments were rambling.

"I'm a god," the handcuffed ex-warlord told court officials. "I'm the inner god. I'm the leader of Sierra Leone."

His deteriorating condition slowed proceedings, and Sankoh made his last court appearances in a wheelchair and was unable to respond to questions.

The court statement released Wednesday after Sankoh's death said prosecutors still would attempt through other war-crimes trials to establish his "involvement in the atrocious deeds that have left a legacy of horror in the minds and memories of those who survived."

Survivors include his wife, Fatou Sankoh, and at least one daughter.

News of his death was slow to break in Freetown, a city still bearing scars of the war. Sierra Leone's government refused immediate comment, noting only that Sankoh had been in U.N. custody.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: africa; africawatch; sankoh; sierraleone; un; warcrimes
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Idi Amin may live on but another butcher bites the dust. Sankoh will burn in one of the hottest parts of hell, with Uday and Qusay to keep him company.
1 posted on 07/30/2003 7:06:47 AM PDT by propertius
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To: propertius
Well, he had been warned by Kofi Annan's representatives that if he didn't not pay the required amounts to the UN diplomats in charge and in NYC, it would go hard on him. This will be a lesson to the bad guys in Liberia when they become the guests of the UN diplomats.
2 posted on 07/30/2003 7:17:54 AM PDT by Tacis
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To: Tacis
Damn, I didn't even know he was sick. Do you suppose I should send his family a card? < /sarcasm >
3 posted on 07/30/2003 7:19:01 AM PDT by WestPacSailor (Gun Control: two hand grip, front sight focus, breath, squeeze trigger...repeat as necessary.)
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To: propertius
Rebel Foday Sankoh Dies in Sierra Leone

He died during a sex-change operation. He wanted to be Queen Foday.

4 posted on 07/30/2003 7:23:25 AM PDT by TruthShallSetYouFree (Equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome.)
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To: TruthShallSetYouFree
Foday ?? Wasn't he in that Lord of the Rings trilogy thang ?

Stay Safe !

5 posted on 07/30/2003 7:56:37 AM PDT by Squantos (Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt.)
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To: propertius
Tom Dasshole was "deeply saddened".
6 posted on 07/30/2003 9:26:20 AM PDT by Heff (NJ Needs Auto Insurance reform!!!!!)
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To: TruthShallSetYouFree
He died during a sex-change operation. He wanted to be Queen Foday.

That joke is so terribly bad, that I just about LMAO!

7 posted on 07/30/2003 9:34:54 AM PDT by Paradox
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To: propertius
This is turning out to be a good summer for bad guys to die.
8 posted on 07/30/2003 9:36:14 AM PDT by Semper Paratus
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To: propertius
Good riddance to bad rubbish!
9 posted on 07/30/2003 9:46:45 AM PDT by Vesuvian
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To: propertius
Reckon I'll be getting an e-mail from his widow regarding the 26 million bucks he had stored up in a security account in preparation for his demise....
10 posted on 07/30/2003 9:51:57 AM PDT by commandante_zero (Nice kitty, kitty...ZOT!)
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To: propertius

11 posted on 07/30/2003 9:57:17 AM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: propertius
First Biggie Smalls ‘n’ Tupac. Now Choppin’ 4-day!

A brotha cain’t buy a break no mo’!

12 posted on 07/30/2003 10:12:52 AM PDT by rogue yam
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To: propertius
Some of the unfortunate folks who crossed paths with Sankoh and his R.U.F.

Pardon the ghastly photos but the truth is not always pretty. Let these images serve to remind us that not all men are created equal. Some are subhuman animals.

13 posted on 07/30/2003 3:34:35 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: *AfricaWatch
Ping to AfricaWatch for articles related to the African continent.
14 posted on 07/30/2003 4:50:00 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: Drew68
How awful. Yes, he was definitely in the subhuman class. Poor Africa!
15 posted on 07/30/2003 5:01:48 PM PDT by livius
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To: Drew68
Look at those pictures and remember that Jesse Jackson was implemental in this P.O.S.'s maintaining a position of power!
16 posted on 07/31/2003 8:37:47 AM PDT by Harold Hill (I always think there's a band, kid)
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To: Harold Hill
bump
17 posted on 07/31/2003 9:05:20 AM PDT by Harold Hill (I always think there's a band, kid)
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To: Harold Hill
...and dead men tell no tales!
18 posted on 07/31/2003 9:07:34 AM PDT by Harold Hill (I always think there's a band, kid)
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To: Harold Hill
stump bump
19 posted on 07/31/2003 9:24:28 AM PDT by Harold Hill (I always think there's a band, kid)
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To: Harold Hill
stump bump

Shame on you. That's just tasteless.

...and shame on me for laughing at it.

20 posted on 07/31/2003 1:23:13 PM PDT by Drew68
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