The Empire In Africa

Philippe Diaz's controversial documentary about the legacy of the brutal 1991-2002 civil war in Sierra Leone — widely considered the poorest country in the world, despite its rich mineral resources — suggests that the rebel faction RUF (Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone) was not alone in terrorizing civilians and committing atrocities, most famously the amputation of limbs with machetes. A former British colony and a country of 4.5 million, Sierra Leone achieved independence in 1961 and held its first democratic elections the following year. But a series of military coups and a succession of corrupt regimes undermined both the country's infrastruct...