As a peace agreement was signed between government and rebels in Sierra Leone in July 1999, BBC News Online's special coverage looked at one of Africa's most obscure conflicts, which has left tens of thousands of people displaced and unknown numbers dead or mutilated:
Worse than Kosovo?"If the situation in Sierra Leone is so bad, how come there are 50,000 Nato troops in Kosovo and just a few dozen unarmed UN observers in Sierra Leone?"
- Mark Doyle reports.
A country torn by conflict: Caroline Hawley 
"A war of young against old": Richard Dowden of The Economist talks to Newshour about the causes
A cruel war "When the rebels reached the city, in a matter of days they are said to have amputated the limbs of around 1,500 people" - Jeremy Vine in Freetown
A muddled conflict: Q&ASierra Leone's eight-year conflict is a complex one that has its roots in years of poverty and misrule, and the unrest in neighbouring Liberia.
Thursday, 8 July, 1999, 08:59 GMT 09:59 UK 
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