The court found all three guilty of forced marriage, marking the first time the charge has been handed down in an international tribunal.

Issa Sesay and Morris Kallon, two top leaders of the Revolutionary United Front, were found guilty on 16 of 18 counts. They include sexual slavery, forced marriage, amputation, murder and the enlistment of child soldiers.

Augustine Gbao, a battlefield commander, was found guilty on 14 of the 18 counts.

The convictions mark the end of the Special Court that was set up after the country's disastrous civil war. The rebels were infamous for amputating the arms of victims, as dramatized in the film "Blood Diamond."