Child labor in Sierra Leone's diamond mines accompanied the start of the country's civil war. According to Lansana Fofana's BBC article "Children Working in Sierra Leone Mines," "During Sierra Leone's 10 year civil war, children were used as combatants and laborers in the diamond mines." During the civil war the rebel alliance sought out cheap labor. The rebels found that children were an efficient workforce that could be easily exploited. This trend, according to Lasana Fofana's IPS article "Legacy of Conflict," was most evident "at the height of the conflict, when children were abducted by rebel forces." At the height of the conflict the rebels needed more ammunition and weapons; therefore, they sought out to get as much cheap labor as possible. The rebels would use diamond money to buy all of their supplies especially the much needed ammunition and weapons. The war came to a close when the disarment process began the government started to reassert its authority in places where held by the rebels. By the early part of the year 2002, 72,000 ex-combatants had been disarmed and disbanded, according to the U.S Department of State. It was not until January 18, 2002 that president Kabbah declared the Sierra Leone civil war officially over. As a result of the civil war, the country of Sierra Leone was left in a state of deep poverty. The poverty that afflicts Sierra Leone is a major factor contributing to the amount of child labor in its diamond mines. Poverty is so great in the country that children are "encouraged by their parents to go to the mines"("Legacy of conflict"). In most cases, the parents' income alone is not enough to support the whole family; therefore, the children must also provide the family with income. This leads the families to ask their children to work in the mines; the children's parents push them to work in any form of labor that will provide economic support to the family. There are some very unfortunate cases whe