'Scare the babies': Lansana Fofana talked to some of the survivors about forgiveness in the aftermath of violence.

Jabati Mambu was 16 in 1999 when rebels invaded Freetown unleashing mayhem on innocent civilians whom they accused of backing the regime. By the end of their two-week-long occupation hundreds of civilians had been mutilated.

'I had taken shelter, along with 20 other people, mostly teenagers, in a small house. But the rebels burned it down and arrested all of us. I explained to the commander that I was a student. But when I showed him my ID he ordered a 12-year-old drugged-up rebel to slash off my right hand. More people were amputated or killed. The rebels hated all students, accusing us of backing the civilian regime.'

Jabati lost many relatives during the rebel campaign. His home village in the south was razed, farmers were forced to abandon their plots and young girls were abducted and raped. He believes reconciliation could work, but only when the Government takes seriously the welfare of the victims of the war.

'It makes me sick that those who committed the crimes are still at liberty. There are hundreds of them out there; they must be arrested and tried. Otherwise impunity will continue and threaten our fragile peace.'

Sia Bundor, now 21, was in a group of 15 girls abducted from Freetown by rebels. Rape was another weapon of war used throughout the conflict. Women and girls would be rounded up and gang-raped or forced to become sex slaves of their captors.

'If we refused they beat us mercilessly and starved us--even though we did the cooking for them. I was forced to marry a rebel commander and impregnated twice. I have two babies that I brought back from the bush. I will never forget nor forgive my tormentors. My entire life is in ruins.'

Sia says that as long as hundreds of middle-level commanders are free there is the potential for a return to violence and disorder.

'Reconciliation is a dream. The Government told us to forgive those who terrorized us but they have abandoned us to our fates.'

Sierra Leone underwent a devastating civil war from 1991 to 2002 with little distinction between civilians and combatants. The conflict was marked by torture, mutilation, abduction of children as soldiers, sexual violence and murder of civilians. Tens of thousands were killed and a quarter of the population displaced. Last autumn the Sierra Leone Truth Commission published its report. A Special Court for Sierra Leone was established by the UN in 2002 to prosecute serious crimes committed during the war.

Lansana Fofana is a Freetown-based correspondent for Inter Press Service.