Sierra Leone endured a brutal civil war through the 1990s, fought largely over control of the country’s diamond fields and marked by mass amputations, widespread use of child soldiers, and displacement of much of the population. The violence spilled repeatedly across borders into Guinea and Liberia.
A large United Nations peacekeeping mission eventually helped enforce a ceasefire and oversee disarmament, paving the way for the war’s formal end in 2002. Reconstruction since has been slow, with the country ranking among the poorest in the world even as it rebuilt state institutions and held peaceful elections.
Recovery was further tested by the West African Ebola outbreak of 2014 to 2016, and by chronic governance challenges that continue to shape the country’s path toward stability.