Court closes off alleged mass murder site

The Special Court for Sierra Leone on Thursday cordoned off a suspected mass murder site, dating back to Sierra Leone's civil war, around a flooded diamond mining pit in Tombudu, in the eastern district of Kono. Local residents believe that the bodies of hundreds of civilians have been dumped there after they were killed during an attack on the village in 1998. Many atrocities were committed during the 1991-2001 war between the Sierra Leonean army and rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), including the amputation of the limbs of several thousand citizens. A press statement from the special court said the Chief of Investigations, Al White, showed reporters bones and other remains at the edge of the pit, which, he said, were clearly human. This is the first alleged crime scene officially cordoned off by Sierra Leonean and international investigators working for the Prosecutor of the Special Court, David Crane, since investigations began last month, the statement said. There were also signs of alleged atrocities committed elsewhere in the village. White showed reporters a house in the village that contained numerous human skulls and other human remains, but said the site had been tampered with and was of limited use to investigators. In a related development, Crane met hundreds of people in Kono District and "listened as they spoke of their hopes and concerns regarding his work," the Court reported on Friday. Crane told the people gathered there that he would go wherever the evidence took him: "commanders, their backers, and anyone else who bears the greatest responsibility" for abuses. The meeting was the first of a series the Office of the Prosecutor plans to hold in districts throughout Sierra Leone, said Tom Perriello, who coordinates the court's outreach programme. "We need to hear the concerns and suggestions of all Sierra Leoneans," Perriello added. The prosecutor and registry of the court began work in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone, in August. Judges are due to be sworn in by the end of the year and the court has been given three years to complete its work. In July, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission launched a nationwide appeal to Sierra Leoneans not to tamper with suspected mass graves or slaughter houses for fear vital evidence could be lost. A preliminary assessment by an Argentine team of forensic experts found evidence of mass graves and killing sites in the districts of Kambia, Port Loko, Kailahun and Kono. That team was in Sierra Leone to establish patterns of human rights abuses during the 10-year civil war, after United Nations forces discovered evidence of mass graves.