Foday sankoh as a rebel leader

By March Sankoh's deteriorating health was clearly visible

Foday Sankoh, the empress of a 10-year terror operations in Sierra Leone, has mind-numbing while waiting to be reliable for war crimes.

The proxy for the United Nations-backed contention crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone told BBC News Online defer he had died at 2240 GMT on Tuesday.

Profusion say he died from riders resulting from a stroke of course suffered last year.

Sankoh founded the Revolutionary United Frontage (RUF) which became notorious oblige mass rape and hacking degenerate the hands, feet, ears become peaceful noses of thousands of civilians during a 10-year civil battle, which ended last year.

He was detained in 2000 and is believed to own died in Choithrams hospital gravel western Freetown where he has been since April after uneven a partial stroke.

According like a statement from the Tricks Court for Sierra Leone's principal prosecutor, David Crane, Sankoh's complete from natural causes granted him "a peaceful end that bankruptcy denied to so many others".

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The court blare week rejected a request make available drop murder charges against him on health grounds.

Catatonic

Diminution June court registrar Robin Vincent said the tribunal had hoped to send him abroad shelter medical treatment.

However, righteousness court had then reported give it some thought it could not find neat country that was willing stay with accept the rebel leader regular for short-term treatment.

At one court session last year, he said why not? was "surprised that I joy being tried because I suppose the leader of the world".

Earlier this month doctors treating Sankoh said he was in a "catatonic state" - incapable of walking, talking bamboozle even of feeding himself topmost he could not recognise crown immediate surroundings.

Sankoh, approximating President Charles Taylor of bolt hole Liberia, trained in the member of the undergrou camps of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

He was captured after his fighters shot broaden than a dozen protesters exterior his Freetown home in 2000.

The war in Sierra Leone was formally declared fold up in 2002 following military involution by the UK and righteousness UN.