Samuel Sam Bockarie, widely known as Mosquito, was a Sierra Leonean politician and army commander who served as a leader of the Revolutionary United Front.
17 Facts About Sam Bockarie
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Sam Bockarie earned the nickname "Mosquito" for his ability to attack when his enemies were off-guard, mainly during the night.
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When Sankoh was imprisoned from March 1997 until April 1999, Sam Bockarie served as commander of the RUF in his place.
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Sam Bockarie was born on 2 October 1964 in Koidu Town, Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone.
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Sam Bockarie was the son of a diamond miner and he was raised in his hometown of Koidu Town.
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Sam Bockarie eventually moved to Liberia, and then to Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire where he worked as a barber, electrician, and waiter.
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In 1989, Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia invaded Liberia from Cote d'Ivoire, where Sam Bockarie was living at the time.
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However, Sam Bockarie did not join until later that year, when he met recruits who were talking about taking action in Sierra Leone.
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Sam Bockarie went with the group to join guerrilla training exercises held along the border of Sierra Leone and Liberia.
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Sam Bockarie was officially a part of the newly formed RUF in 1990, and was a part of the initial incursion into Sierra Leone in 1991.
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In 1992, Sam Bockarie made the move into the upper leadership of the RUF, becoming Battle Group Commander, answerable only to the Battle Field Commander and Foday Sankoh, the leader of the RUF.
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From this time until Sankoh's release in 1999, Sam Bockarie performed the task of director of military operations of the RUF, with alleged advice from Charles Taylor.
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Sam Bockarie was reluctant to ask his forces to disarm amidst the new tension, and he and Sankoh had a falling out in the early spring of 2000.
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On 3 March 2003, Sam Bockarie was indicted for crimes against humanity, violation of the Geneva Convention and violation of international humanitarian law.
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Sam Bockarie was slated for trial by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
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Sam Bockarie was accused of recruiting child soldiers and abducting people to fight with him, and of attacking UN peacekeepers working under UNAMSIL.
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Late in the day on Monday, 5 May 2003, Sam Bockarie was killed in what was officially reported to be a shootout with Liberian forces.