What are the roots of the war?

The conflict began in complex circumstances that involved both internal and external pressures.

Rebels emerged amid bitterness over years of misrule by what they saw as a corrupt elite which took over following the end of British rule in 1961.

Poor rural people increasingly resented the richer ruling class of Freetown while battles to control the wealth of the diamond mines further fanned the flames of conflict.

Foday Sankoh, trained by the British army, formed an alliance with Liberian rebel militia leader Charles Taylor - now president - and launched the war.

As the war dragged on, successive attempts to restore peace failed.

Sierra Leone governments brought in mercenaries, most notably UK military consultants Sandline International, an event which sparked a full-scale inquiry into the role of the British Foreign Office in the affair.

South African mercenaries, attracted by the potential wealth held in the diamond mines, joined the government side while it is believed that Ukrainians fought with the rebels.

Nigeria led an intervention force into Freetown earlier this year and finally brought the fighting to an end.

The operation was hailed as a major success for Africa solving its own problems.

What were the effects of the war?

The civil war saw nearly half the country's 4.5 million population displaced and the United Nations recently placed Sierra Leone at the bottom of its list ranking how countries are meeting the needs of their people.

A further 500,000 people are believed displaced in neighbouring countries.

At least 50,000 people died in the fighting while there are an estimated 100,000 mutilation victims.

The economy is in ruins while the national infrastructure needed to run the country has effectively collapsed.

The World Food Programme has been operating throughout Sierra Leone though it is scaling down its work following the abductions.