Confronting Africa's Sobels

Abstract

ABSTRACT: While the phenomenon described in this article may appear to be an African problem, the Western world's increasing involvement in fighting terrorists make it one that America's military forces might encounter. Unfortunately, it could add a significant layer of complexity to US operations as American troops attempt to differentiate allies from enemies. In Africa, sometimes they are one and the same. ********** Sobel, a portmanteau of soldier and rebel, appears to have been coined in Sierra Leone during the 1990s. This was a period marked in parts of West Africa by fighting over conflict diamonds, also known as blood diamonds, when government discovered how lucrative it could be to serve as soldiers by day, rebels by night or, as the villagers called them, sobels. On closer examination, it can be observed that the relationship between the of the Sierra Leonean Army and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the rebel group which during the country's civil war occupied large portions of diamond-rich land, changed over time, thus making the phenomenon more like the phenomena. Unfortunately, the presence of sobels is often an indication that a war is profitable for both rebels and soldiers, providing them with an incentive to lengthen the conflict to maximize their earnings. With neither side able to score a decisive win, both sides profit. Meanwhile, the rural population, essentially held hostage during the conflict, is often terrorized so as not to intervene. As an example, the RUF started not only to amputate people's hands, but to publicize such mutilations as a way of preventing people from casting ballots and putting a political end to unpolitical brutalities. Though Sierra Leone appears to be where the sobel neologism originated, variations of the soldier-by-day, rebel-by-night phenomenon can be found in many parts of Africa (and, indeed, in other parts of the world). By studying the phenomenon and its variations, it is possible to determine what factors influence government to join rebel forces, ways to dissuade them from joining, and, if they do join, possible ways to induce them to return permanently to government service. While the phenomenon described within these pages may appear to be an African problem, the Western world's increasing involvement in fighting terrorists on that continent make it one America's military forces might encounter. Unfortunately, it could add a significant layer of complexity to US operations as American troops attempt to differentiate allies from enemies. In Africa, sometimes they are one and the same. Background to Sobel: The Sierra Leone Civil War Sierra Leone's civil war started in 1991, when the RUF, led by Foday Sankoh, and backed by Liberian warlord Charles Taylor, launched an attack in a diamond-rich area in Eastern Sierra Leone. (1) Though ostensibly the RUF's raison d'etre was to oppose the corrupt government, it morphed more into a group of bandits and less a band of revolutionaries. As for Taylor, who later would become President of Liberia, his interests from the outset appear mostly financial. The war lasted eleven years, during which time both the RUF and the army were responsible for heinous atrocities against civilian populations. Estimates of the number killed range upwards of 50,000. (2) It took foreign intervention, in particular the country's former colonial power, the British, to help end the war. Atrocities as a Contributing Factor There were many factors which led to some of Sierra Leone's becoming sobels, including several socioeconomic ones discussed later. A significant driving force, however, was the civilian hatred of the army because of the atrocities the committed fighting the RUE The soldiers, when willing to hunt down the RUF--an inconsistent process as the army was sometimes afraid of direct combat with the rebels--often had difficulties locating their enemy. …