Sierra Leone holds its first national day to remember civil war victims
On the anniversary of the end of the war, the country paused to honour the 120,000 people who died.
Key points
- Sierra Leone marked its first National Day of Remembrance on 18 January 2026, the anniversary of the official end of the civil war in 2002.
- The ten-year war killed some 120,000 people and left thousands more injured or mutilated.
- President Julius Maada Bio asked citizens to wear white ribbons from 14 to 21 January as a symbol of peace, healing and unity.
Sierra Leone marked its first National Day of Remembrance on 18 January 2026, honouring the victims of the country's civil war.
The date is the anniversary of the day the war officially ended in 2002. The ten-year conflict killed some 120,000 people and left thousands more injured or mutilated.
"The heavy price our country paid for peace"
"For the first time in our history, we gather on a single day to remember our civil war and the heavy price our country paid for peace," President Julius Maada Bio said in an address to the nation.
He invited Sierra Leoneans to wear a white ribbon or cloth from 14 to 21 January, as a symbol of peace, healing and unity.
A day of reflection
The day was not a public holiday: offices, schools and markets stayed open. Instead, it was designed as a national moment of remembrance and reflection, and a recommitment to unity and peaceful democratic coexistence.
Why it matters
More than two decades after the war ended, many survivors still live with its physical and emotional scars. A formal day of remembrance acknowledges their suffering and helps pass the lessons of the war on to a generation born after it.
Sources
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