The Order to Kill Comes Softly

Foday Sankoh's vanity emerges in the presence of photographers. He allows the cameras to come close and quite clearly holds an expression and a pose for the lens until the shoot is over. Then he gets back to sneering, throwing out the angriest of accusations even at his milder detractors. He can rant energetically for 15 minutes at a go, claiming his purported atrocities are concoctions of his enemies. "Pure fabrication" are words he repeats over and over, and he has nothing but disgust for nonmembers of his Revolutionary United Front.

With his followers, however, Sankoh is calm, warm, even...

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