Incident Summary:

10/24/2000: Members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) raided Sokure village, Northern province, Sierra Leone. They killed at least eight villagers and burned down at least a hundred homes. Remaining villagers fled to the town of Kabala. The rebels attacked the villagers because they refused to join the RUF; those villagers that survived the attack and were unable to flee were forced to join the rebels. RUF members also attacked two other villages the same day.

GTD ID:
200010240008

When:
2000-10-24

Country:
Sierra Leone

Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Northern

City:
Sokurela

Location Details:
Sokure village near the border with Guinea

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Armed Assault
Type of Attack (more) Hostage Taking (Kidnapping)
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property
Name of Entity Civilians
Specific Description Villagers from Sokure
Nationality of Target Sierra Leone
Additional Information
Hostages Yes
Number of Hostages Unknown
US Hostages Unknown
Outcome Unknown
Property Damage Yes
Extent of Property Damage Unknown
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Incendiary Arson/Fire
Unknown
Weapon Details
No mention of specific weapons was made, but over one hundred houses were burnt down
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?Yes
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Additional Information Multiple incidents - GTD ID# 200010240005 and 200010240009. The rebels attacked three villages on the same day, with an overall death count of 25 between all three locations. Several hundred houses in total were burned between the three villages.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 8 Fatalities
Total Number of Fatalities 8
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured Unknown
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
"Civilians flee rebel raids in northern S.Leone," Reuters, October 30, 2000.