Britain's Delicate Military Commitment in Sierra Leone

A six-month evacuation exercise for foreign nationals has turned into Britain's most delicate and dangerous military commitment in Sierra Leone, with a Royal Naval force and 500 marines being deployed off the coast to support the beleaguered civilian government of President Ahmed Kabbah. This move risks being a military intervention without adequate diplomatic efforts to resolve the civil war, which has no end in sight. Britain's commitment to the country's stability remains crucial, as the UN mission to monitor the Lome peace agreement would have collapsed without its military support. The credibility of the UN in Africa would have been severely damaged, and hopes for a peaceful resolution in the Congo would have been lost.

Key Takeaways:

• Britain's military commitment in Sierra Leone is becoming increasingly delicate and dangerous, with a Royal Naval force and 500 marines being deployed to support the civilian government.
• The civil war in Sierra Leone has no end in sight, and Britain's military intervention is unlikely to bring a swift or honorable exit.
• The UN mission to monitor the Lome peace agreement would have collapsed without Britain's military support, which is crucial for the country's stability.
• The credibility of the UN in Africa would have been severely damaged if Britain was not providing military support to the mission.
• India and Jordan have started to withdraw their troops from the UN force, leaving a gap that Britain must fill.
• Britain has played a vital role in training the Sierra Leonean government army, with 3,000 members trained so far and another 3,000 in the pipeline.
• The government of Sierra Leone has been able to resume exports of diamonds under a UN-backed certification scheme, which has starved the rebels of funds.

Statistics:

• 500 marines will be deployed on the Royal Naval force to support the civilian government in Sierra Leone.
• The UN mission has 13,000 current soldiers and aims to increase this to 20,500.
• Over 3,000 members of the Sierra Leonean government army have been trained by a 400-strong British military team.
• Another 3,000 members of the government army are in the pipeline to be trained.
• The UN-backed certification scheme guarantees that diamonds exported from Sierra Leone have not come from "conflict areas".

Sources:

• "Britain's Delicate Military Commitment in Sierra Leone" - (no specific date mentioned) in an unnamed publication.
• The news announcement that a Royal Naval force with 500 marines on board would be deployed off the coast of Sierra Leone.
• An unnamed government source in Sierra Leone, cited in "Britain's role in Sierra Leone," (no specific date mentioned).
• "UN's Africa mission in trouble as India pulls out troops," (no specific date mentioned) in The Guardian.