Sierra Leone marks first National Day of Remembrance in honour of victims of civil war

Sierra Leone marked its first National Day of Remembrance on Sunday in honour of the victims of the country’s ten year civil war.

The conflict killed some 120,000 people and left thousands more injured or mutilated before officially ending on January 18th, 2002.

"For the first time in our history, we gather on a single day to remember our civil war and the heavy price our country paid for peace," President Julius Maada Bio said in an address to the nation.

"From this day forward, January 18th belongs to every Sierra Leonean. To every victim and every survivor, I cannot ask you to forget. I ask only that, in your own time and in your own way, our nation may find the grace to heal fully, restore dignity, and move forward together.”

The war is considered one of the most brutal in recent history. It began in 1991 when fighting spilled over from neighboring Liberia and rebel fighters clashed with Sierra Leone armed forces.

In 2002, a United Nations tribunal indicted 23 people for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other violations of international law, including former Liberian president Charles Taylor who was sentenced to 50 years in prison.