Sierra Leone: January 10, 2002

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The disarmament program has gone better than expected, with 43,000 armed men giving up their weapons. The problem is, the UN planned on disarming only 25,000. There is not enough money to provide the payments and training the disarmed men were promised. The UN is trying to raise the additional $12 million needed. Most of the men disarmed (25,832) belonged to pro-government militias. The chief rebel group, RUF, had 17,407 disarm. Getting the weapons out of circulation brings the crime rate down and helps prevent another rebellion. But there are still plenty of weapons around, and the unemployed young men are still out there who know how to use them. The ten years of civil war and anarchy killed at least 200,000 people. 

 

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