Journal 6: Common Weapons in Sierra Leone 

     Some of the common weapons in Sierra Leone, Africa during the civil war were the G3 rifle, AK-47, and the RPG (rocket propelled grenade). Here are some of those weapons and what they look like...

 

 The G3 is a NATO battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German arms manufacturer Heckler and Koch. The AK-47 is a selective-fire (semi-automatic and automatic), assault-rifle developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. Last but not least, the RPG is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder- launched, anti-tank rocket propelled grenade launcher. 

These weapons have been used to cause of hundreds of thousands of deaths of innocent men, women and children in villages in Sierra Leone.  While the military soldiers use these guns to try to maintain order in the country, the RUF (Rebel United Forces) uses the same weapons to destroy villages and murder civilians, claiming they are fighting for their freedom. 

Rebels as young as seven and eight years old are allowed to carry and uses these same weapons to shoot other children of the same age.

One of the main causes of this civil war is conflict diamonds.  They are mined in Sierra Leone and sold all over the world.