Sierra Leone

Military forces of the Government of Sierra Leone and Military Observer Group (ECOMOG) forces provided by the Economic Com-munity of West African States (ECOWAS) were engaged in military opera-tions in Sierra Leone against the insurgent Revolutionary United Front (RUF) until mid-1999. At that time, the Government of Sierra Leone and the RUF signed the Lome Peace Agreement, which provides for an end to hostilities and the disarmament, demobili-za-tion, and resettlement of the insurgent RUF forces. The United Nations Security Council in U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1270 and 1289 established the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) to facilitate implementation of the Lome Agreement and provide security at key locations and government buildings and at all sites of the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration program, among other tasks.

In early May 2000, as UNAMSIL expanded its efforts to establish monitoring and disarmament sites in or near RUF-controlled territory, RUF forces initiated military activity in those areas, killing at least four peacekeepers, and capturing or isolating hundreds of UNAMSIL personnel. The United States consulted with the United Nations, members of the U.N. Security Council, troop-contributing countries and West African States on ways to resolve the crisis.

The US Embassy in Sierra Leone evacuated US citizens to minimize the number of U.S. citizens exposed to risk.