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Demobilization – 2002

A joint committee on DDR, comprised of the Government of Sierra Leone, the RUF and UNAMSIL, met on January 17, 2002 and declared the completion of the demobilization and disarmament process. A total of 47,076 combatants (19,183 RUF, 27,695 CDF and 198 AFRC/ex-SLA) were demobilized and disarmed. The actual number could be slightly higher. The higher estimate is 47,781, with the RUF accounting for 19,267, the CDF for 28,051, and others for 463.¹As reported in Thusi and Meek, 2003, 7,785 hand weapons, 17,180 assault weapons, 1,036 group weapons, and 935,495 ammunitions were collected. UNAMSIL had destroyed a total of 24,944 weapons as of the March 14, 2002 report of the Secretary General on UNAMSIL (S/2002/267).

Citing the NCDDA’s August report (August 2002), Thusi and Meek, 2003, report that Sierra Leone disarmed and demobilized 72,490 combatants (24,352 RUF, 2,574 AFRC, 5,953 ex-SLA, 37,377 CDF, and 2,234 others, including paramilitaries). By phase, the disarmed and demobilized include 3,183 in the first phase, 18,898 in the second phase, 628 in the interim phase, and 47,781 in the third phase. Among the demobilized, 6,845 were children. In the process, 42,300 weapons and 1.2 million pieces of ammunition were collected and destroyed.²

1. Thusi, Thokozani and Sarah Meek, “Disarmament and Demobilization”. In eds. Malan, et al., Sierra Leone: Building the Road to Recovery, Institute for Security Studies, Monograph 80, http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/monographs/No80/content.html, 28).
2. Thusi, Thokozani and Sarah Meek, “Disarmament and Demobilization”, Malan, et al., Sierra Leone: Building the Road to Recovery, Institute for Security Studies, 2003, Monograph 80, http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/monographs/No80/content.html, 33-34).