Sierra Leone passes new laws to boost landowners' rights

FILE PHOTO: Land cleared for a palm oil plantation is seen in Malen chiefdom in Pujehun district in southern Sierra Leone October 27, 2011. / REUTERS/Simon Akam/File Photo

FREETOWN (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's parliament on Monday passed two laws that lawyers say will help boost the rights of rural landowners and women against land grabs by big mining and agribusiness firms.

The West African country has a history of sometimes deadly conflict between local communities and foreign companies that have cleared huge tracts of land for palm oil and sugarcane plantations in recent years.