Can Op Palliser Be Explained In Sixty Seconds?

• What happened when Britain intervened in the Sierra Leone civil war?
• How did a small force of British Paras help bring about stability?
• How long did the conflict last?
• What led up to the troubles in Sierra Leone?

Sierra Leone had been a British colony until it gained independence in 1961 and became a republic 10 years later, but following a series of military coups, elections and power struggles, the country ended up in an all-out civil war.

Here, BFBS Creative challenged its team to explain a piece of military history in just sixty seconds - all about Op Palliser in Sierra Leone.

Can Op Palliser Be Explained In Sixty Seconds?

By 1991 there was a civil war, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) stormed through the country. It is now known as one of the most brutal civil wars in recent history. The RUF rebels kidnapped United Nations Peacekeeping troops that had been stationed there, and by May 2000, the rebels were close to capturing the capital city of Freetown.

Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister at the time, decided that the situation in Sierra Leone was endangering British Nationals living there, and therefore action needed to be taken.

WATCH BELOW: CIVIL WAR SIERRA LEONE EXPLAINED IN 60 SECONDS

An Airborne Battlegroup, made up of 800 soldiers who were mainly from the Parachute Regiment, deployed to Senegal, giving a closer striking distance to Sierra Leone.

On the 7th May 2000, the regiment's helicopters landed and the Paras took control of Freetown. They co-ordinated an evacuation that was completed by May 12. However, the Paras continued to control the airport and patrol Freetown.

Brigadier Richards, who oversaw the mission, had to make a tough decision. The mission was complete but the people of Freetown were still in danger from the RUF rebels.

He persuaded the British government that it was worthwhile staying to help the local people.

On May 17, the Pathfinder Platoon entered into a fierce fight with the RUF rebels near Freetown, with assistance they were able to fight on until the RUF rebels withdrew.

The operation ended a month later, but it had played a key part in changing the outcome on a decade old civil war.

The mission was widely viewed as a success and helped bring long term stability to Sierra Leone.

By the time the war ended in 2002, at least 50,000 people had been killed with hundreds of thousands more affected by the violence, and two million people had been displaced by the war.

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