British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War

Did You Know?

• In May 1997, a two-man British Army training team was sent to train SLA officers but discovered the SLA's strength was much lower than reported; the government was overthrown before any training could take place.
• HMS Cornwall sailed to Freetown in February 1998 with food and medical supplies, and her crew assisted with infrastructure repairs.
• The Royal Air Force conducted a non-combatant evacuation operation codenamed Operation Spartic over Christmas 1998, evacuating about 80 people.

Background

Sierra Leone is a West African country of 71,740 square kilometres, comparable in size to South Carolina or Scotland. It borders Guinea and Liberia, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west. British influence began in the late 18th century when former slaves settled in what became Freetown, and the country became a British colony in 1808. Independence from the United Kingdom was granted in 1961, with Sir Milton Margai as first prime minister. After a series of political changes, Siaka Stevens became president when Sierra Leone became a republic in 1971. In 1978 the country became a one-party state under the All People's Congress. Stevens retired in 1985, appointing Joseph Momoh as successor. Accused of corruption, Momoh faced the Revolutionary United Front, formed later in the decade with backing from Liberia. The RUF attacked border settlements in 1991, seized diamond mines, and traded diamonds for weapons. Subsequent years saw coups and interventions by private military companies, Nigeria, the Economic Community of West African States, and the United Nations, as civil war devastated the country.

Build-up to the intervention

Under the Lomé Agreement, UNAMSIL established disarmament camps intended to disarm the Sierra Leone Army, the RUF, and militia groups. The SLA and some militias entered the camps, but the RUF did not. In April 2000, ten RUF members entered a UNAMSIL camp without their leadership's knowledge. When the RUF demanded their return and the military observers refused, the RUF besieged the camp and attacked other UNAMSIL bases, taking large numbers of UN personnel prisoner. The RUF then advanced into government-controlled areas, taking Kambia on 3 May. Foreign diplomats estimated the RUF could reach Freetown within a week, as the SLA had been confined to barracks and had surrendered most weapons under the Lomé Agreement. The UN condemned the violence, and Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the British representative that the UN expected the United Kingdom, as former colonial power, to intervene directly. On 5 May 2000, the British government publicly stated it would provide only logistical and technical support, but privately explored military options. The UK had greater political involvement in Sierra Leone than any other African country and was reluctant to see that investment wasted. An estimated 1,000 entitled personnel were in Sierra Leone, and the government feared for their safety. Academics later suggested that the credibility of UNAMSIL and future UN peacekeeping operations was at stake. The British armed forces, though committed elsewhere, were keen to participate, and senior officers advised the government that an operation was feasible.

Mission expansion

The three government departments involved—the MoD, the FCO, and DfID—struggled to agree on objectives beyond the evacuation, causing delays in issuing orders. Richards did not receive precise instructions until after Operation Palliser began, and rules of engagement were not issued beforehand; commanders defaulted to those used in Northern Ireland. With the evacuation largely complete, the British government focused on four British UNMOs held by the RUF. British forces in Freetown helped three British and one New Zealand UNMO escape from a besieged UNAMSIL camp in Makeni. The four officers left the camp, passed the RUF line covertly, trekked west, and were picked up by an RAF Chinook at Mile 91. The Kenyan UNAMSIL detachment then fought its way out of Makeni. One British UNMO, Major Andy Harrison, remained a prisoner; he convinced the RUF to allow the observers to join the Indian UNAMSIL contingent in Kailahun.

Impact

Peter Penfold, who served as High Commissioner until the week before the deployment, stated that the active interest of Nigeria and the UK was crucial in resolving the conflict. He also believed the international community failed to recognise the civil war as part of a larger sub-regional conflict, and that it was not until the problem of Charles Taylor and Liberia was addressed that the conflict was resolved. Penfold praised Richards' leadership, saying it was fortunate that Operation Palliser was under an officer of his calibre. Richards received the Distinguished Service Order, and several other personnel received decorations. The intervention was the fourth overseas deployment under Tony Blair and the largest unilateral UK operation since the Falklands War. It was widely regarded as successful, unlike later operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and became a benchmark for expeditionary operations. Blair cited it in his rationale for later deployments, and success in Sierra Leone encouraged continued UK support to Africa for conflict resolution.