At the centre of the ongoing conflict in the west Africa country of Sierra Leone is the illegal trading of one of the country's natural resources...diamonds.

Efforts have been made to bring awareness of that to diamond traders worldwide, including jewellers in Bermuda.

"We've managed to get the industry to agree on measures to stop trades with the rebels,'' said Sierra Leone-born Bermuda resident Ayo Johnson who is the local campaign co-ordinator.

"Now it's monitoring the implementation of this. It's been a major success to get all these industries and associations together to talk about how they are going to respond to all our recommendations and come to an agreement.'' Mr. Johnson was last in Sierra Leone in 1993, two years after the war began.

"I went there for the anniversary of the military coup which I supported at the time and was there for a week,'' he said. "1995 was the turning point when the situation became even more intense.'' Mr. Johnson admits "it has often been frustrating'' trying to raise the awareness amongst locals. Amnesty International is taking it into the schools and churches, with members speaking to Saltus students yesterday. Lectures and film showings are also planned.

"There is a growing movement of people informing themselves and taking action, not just in Bermuda but around the world,'' said Mr. Johnson. "I'm proud to say this kind of networking started in Bermuda.'' Since July 7, 1999 when the government of Sierra Leone and the armed opposition, Revolutionary United Front (RUF), signed a peace agreement in Lorne, Togo, efforts have been made by the United Nations and the non-governmental organisations to disarm and demobilise child combatants.

However, the political and security situation in Sierra Leone deteriorated in May 2000 and these programmes have been suspended. The recruitment of children as combatants by both rebel forces and government-allied forces has continued.

Rebel RUF forces, which control parts of the north and east of the country, are reported to have forcibly recruited child combatants again in Kambia district and other areas in Northern Province. Previously disarmed and demobilised child combatants with the government-allied Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) has been re-enlisted.

There are reports that children continue to be recruited by the Civil Defence Forces (CDF), the government-allied civilian militia based on societies of traditional hunters, such as the kamajors , particularly in Bo and Moyamba Districts in Southern Province.

In March, June and July of this year Amnesty International delegates in Sierra Leone obtained graphic testimonies from former child combatants with the RUF, AFRC and CDF. Many described how they were forced to drink alcohol and take drugs before combat.

Some children have acknowledged that, often heavily drugged with cocaine, they were extremely brutal, as reports from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) have also noted.

For example, Sayo (not his real name), now aged 14, who was abducted by AFRC forces in 1998 in Makali, Tonkili District, told Amnesty International: "When I go into the battle fields, I smoke enough. That's why I become unafraid of everything. When you refuse to take drugs, it's called technical sabotage and you are killed.'' There are an estimated 300,000 child combatants worldwide.