A former rebel commander known as “Black Diamond” has been deported from the United States over allegations of war crimes tied to Liberia’s brutal civil conflicts, immigration officials confirmed.
The 43-year-old, identified as Mayama Sesay, had arrived in the US on a visitor’s visa in 2014 and sought permanent residency the following year through marriage to an American citizen.
However, authorities said she was removed in September and returned to Liberia.
According to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement,, “Sesay, infamously known as the rebel commander ‘Black Diamond’, played a prominent role in recruiting and leading child soldiers during Liberia’s civil wars” and was once at the helm of an all-female fighting unit.
ICE officials in Atlanta detained Sesay in April after years of litigation surrounding her residency application.
Despite her denial of ties to the rebel movement, an immigration judge ruled that she had been dishonest about her role in the conflict and determined she had “used and recruited child soldiers,” the agency stated.
“At just 22 years old, Sesay recruited and trained child soldiers to fight against Taylor’s forces,” the statement noted, further adding that she had been designated a war criminal in Liberia.
“During the conflict, she gained notoriety for her brutal tactics, including restraining, beating captured soldiers, and deploying mortar bombs to terrorize and kill military personnel and civilians.”
Liberia, still among the poorest nations globally, has struggled to rebuild after two devastating civil wars that lasted from 1989 to 2003, killing an estimated 250,000 people.
The wars left behind a legacy of atrocities, massacres, rape, mutilations, and the widespread use of child soldiers and the country was further shaken by the deadly Ebola epidemic in 2014.
