GIRLS SEIZED, RAPED IN SIERRA LEONE

Thousands of girls were snatched from their homes by Sierra Leone's feared Revolutionary United Front rebels and turned into sex slaves during eight years of civil war.  They were forced to carry heavy loads for the rebels by day and raped nearly every night.  According to the Associated Press, exact figures are not available, but the New York-based Human Rights Watch says the raping of women and children during the war was systematic, organized and widespread - part of a rebel campaign of terror that also included maiming and mutilating thousands of people.