Civil War
RUF rebels fighting in the Sierra Leone Civil War captured Mattru Jong at the end of January, 1995. They faced little military resistance as the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) had already withdrawn from the town. Earlier in January the RUF had briefly taken over the Sierra Rutile Company mine in Imperi Chiefdom, Bonthe District, about 10 miles north west of Mattru Jong, but it was recaptured by the end of January. Most of the RUF forces who captured Mattru Jong entered from the direction of Imperi Chiefdom but some may have come from Sumbaya, Lugbu Chiefdom, Bo District, about fifteen miles east of Mattru Jong. Upon settling in Mattru Jong, the RUF set up its own governing structures in the town. The RUF stole medical supplies from the hospital and used it as a training base. Another base known as "Camp Lion" was set up at Gambia Palm Oil Plantation, nine miles from Mattru Jong. The RUF remained in Mattru Jong for eight months until it was recaptured by the SLA in October, 1995.
Read more about this topic: Mattru Jong
Famous quotes related to civil war:
“We have heard all of our lives how, after the Civil War was over, the South went back to straighten itself out and make a living again. It was for many years a voiceless part of the government. The balance of power moved away from it—to the north and the east. The problems of the north and the east became the big problem of the country and nobody paid much attention to the economic unbalance the South had left as its only choice.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“The utter helplessness of a conquered people is perhaps the most tragic feature of a civil war or any other sort of war.”
—Rebecca Latimer Felton (1835–1930)