Kamajors

The Kamajors were pro-government tribes in the Sierra Leone Civil War. Most mainstream government troops (SLA) were incredibility unreliable. They would often join with the insurgent group Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in plundering the population. In the words of many locals, they were described as "sobels", soldiers by day, rebels by night. So the government was forced to relay on mercenaries (most famously Executive Outcomes) and the tribal militias (the subject matter of this post). They were very superstitious, wearing lucky charms and abstaining from sexual intercourse (that is why the Kamajor rape rates are MUCH lower then their enemies in the RUF, who used rape as a weapon of war and punishment for female fighters) in hopes of protecting themselves from bullets. Eventually a splinter-faction of the government calling themselves the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) formed an alliance with the RUF, and together they toppled the "democratic" government in Freetown and formed a military Junta. However, the Kamajor militias with a coalition of West African states called ECOMOG toppled the Junta and brought the "democratic" government back into power. In 2002, the rebels were finally defeated. The Kamajors often committed similar (but on a smaller scale) atrocities as their rivals in the RUF/AFRC. Cannibalism and amputation were often reported in the Kamajor militias. Since the Kamajor's atrocities were usually directed at the rebels, they were mostly welcomed back in society more easier then their rebel counterparts.

The Kamajors are not meant for controlling and maintains states (this is reflected in their tribal clothing), which complicates things since they are the only reliable indigenous force to the government.

Typical encounters between the Kamajors and the RUF are usually encounters in the jungles.

This man is a great reflection on the tribal nature of the Kamajor militias. His he believes that his various "lucky charms" will protect him from bullets.