With the overthrow of the socialist First Republic of Sierra Leone in a "coup d'état" and the outbreak of the Sierra Leone Civil War, various competing factions began to vie for control of the country's diamond mining industry. The poor working conditions in the diamond fields eventually gave way to the rise of a Sierra Leonean branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Led by Bright Chikezi, the IWW became particularly active among diamond miners, organizing up to 3,240 workers under their banner. They financed their activities through their mining work, while also receiving financial aid and literature from IWW branches in Britain. However, the effects of the civil war eventually came to a head in 1997, when the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council seized control of the country in a military coup and began looting from diamond workers, forcing many IWW militants into exile in Guinea, where they attempted to organize among Guinean miners. As a result of the coup, the international IWW lost contact with the local delegate in Sierra Leone.