Coups and Civil War
Koroma received military training in Nigeria and Britain. He commanded government forces who were fighting against the Revolutionary United Front of Foday Sankoh. Koroma break grounds during the war and his success was his relationship with soldiers under his command because of this he was eye catching. In August 1996 he was arrested due to an alleged involvement in a coup plot against the southern civilian officials who were in control of the country. It was also alleged that the President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was to have been killed. Koroma was freed from prison during a successful military coup on May 25, 1997, when 17 junior soldiers serving the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) break the central prison and made him a do or die offer that brought him to power. He advocated making a peaceful settlement with Sankoh and allowing him to join the government, though this never happened.
After the coup in 1997, Koroma was named Head of State and Chairman of the AFRC. Koroma invited the leadership of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) to join the AFRC, which they promptly did. In order to maintain order, Koroma suspended the constitution, banned demonstrations and abolished all political parties.
Read more about this topic: Johnny Paul Koroma
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