The The Conflict Analysis of the Sierra Leone Civil-War

Sierra Leone like many other African countries plunged into brutal armed civil-war from March 1991 to February 2002, which caused a massive humanitarian crisis. Analyzing the conflict situation of the then Sierra Leon is, therefore, the main intention of this article. To this end, a qualitative meta-empirical literature based study was conducted. Important academic literatures, policy and regulatory documents are devised to collect the required data. Both the conflict tree and conflict mapping frameworks are employed in making the conflict analysis. The analysis of the article reaffirm that a multi form and complex structural and proximate factors contribute to the emergence, escalation and protract ration of the civil war in Sierra Leone. The colonial legacy, power competition, lack of democratic governance, repressive state measures, competition over natural resources and interference from regional neighboring countries were observed as main among the many factors. The article, also, examines the actors involved in the conflict. Each actor’s contribution, issue, goal and interest with different relationships are discussed. Finally, the article analyzed the dynamics of the conflict, focusing on the processes, changes (escalations and de-escalations) and the responses taken at national, regional and international levels.