Sierra Leone–Turkey relations

Sierra Leone and Turkey historically have had tense relations until recently.[2] Turkey denounced Sierra Leone under Foday Sankoh,[2] a Sierra Leonean who had trained as a guerrilla in Libya, because Foday Sankoh’s regime systematically turned children[3] into murderers, force them to perform ritual cannibalism[2] after amputating civilians’ arms[2] and legs. To top it off, Foday Sankoh had been supplying cut-rate diamonds to al Qaeda, which Turkey classified as a terrorist organization, for resale in Europe. Turkey participated in the 6,000-man UN peacekeeping force, even though safety was not restored for a very long time.[4]

• Trade volume between the two countries was US$53.4 million in 2019.[1]
• There are direct flights from Istanbul to Freetown.[1]

• Foreign relations of Sierra Leone
• Foreign relations of Turkey

• Abdullah, Ibrahim, “Bush Path to Destruction: The Origin and Character of the Revolutionary United Front/Sierra Leone.” Journal of Modern African Studies 36, 2, 1998: pp. 203–235.
• Abraham, Arthur, and E. D. A. Turay. The Sierra Leone Army: A Century of History. London: Macmillan, 1987.
• Alie, Joe A. D. A New History of Sierra Leone. London: Macmillan, 1990.
• Binns, Margaret, and Tony Binns. Sierra Leone. Oxford, England: Clio, 1992.
• Hair, Paul E. H. “Contributions to Sierra Leone History.” Journal of the Historical Society of Sierra Leone, 2, 2, 1978: pp. 61–66. Jones, Adam, and Peter K. Mitchell. Sierra Leone Studies at Birmingham, 1985.
• Lansana, Musa S., and Musa J. Lansana. The Invasion of Sierra Leone: A Chronicle of Events of a Nation under Siege. Washington, DC: Sierra Leone Institute for Policy Studies, 1993.
• Rakita, Sara. Forgotten Children of War: Sierra Leonean Refugee Children in Guinea. New York: Human Rights Watch, 1999.
• Riley, S., and Max Sesay. “Sierra Leone: The Coming Anarchy.” Review of African Political Economy 22, 63, 1995.