Britain has reiterated its commitment to Sierra Leone after a weekend raid that freed six British hostages but left one of its soldiers dead, as the United Nations vowed to forcibly disarm militia members in the volatile country.
Sunday's attack on the swampy jungle base of a renegade militia holding six British soldiers hostage was carried out by elite soldiers of the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment backed up by Royal Navy and Air Force troops and assault helicopters.
Britain's Ambassador Alan Jones said the operation "reflected our unflinching commitment to the people of Sierra Leone."
"Our commitment to Sierra Leone, I don't think, has ever been in doubt. The prime minister and ministers in London have reiterated their commitment to providing assistance to Sierra Leone," the ambassador said.
All seven hostages, six British soldiers from the Royal Irish regiment and a Sierra Leone army officer, were freed within an hour, and sent to the British logistics support ship, Sir Percival.
But the operation, codenamed "Barras" continued throughout the day, left one British serviceman dead, along with 25 militia members, including three women.
British military spokesman Lieutenant Commander Tony Cramp refused to say whether the prolonged operation was meant to wipe out the militia.
Eighteen members of the militia, known as the West Side Boys, were captured, including their leader Brigadier Foday Kallay.
The West Side Boys -- a breakaway faction of a junta that ruled Sierra Leone between May 1997 and February 1998 -- captured 11 soldiers of the Royal Irish regiment and a Sierra Leonean liaison officer on August 25.
In an interview with the BBC at Freetown's main prison, Kallay said the West Side Boys had no fighting force left after the British raid, as most of his commanders were killed in the operation.
Meanwhile, the UN peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone vowed to disarm any remaining militia in Occra Hills, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the capital Freetown.
The commander of the UN's Jordanian contingent in Sierra Leone, Brigadier Ahmad Sehren said after Sunday's raid: "Any member of the West Side Boys will be disarmed or shot at if needed." -- FREETOWN (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
