3.5 - Sierra Leone

Question 1

Why is intervention usually done?

Answer 1

• Humanitarian reasons:
• To protect rights of vulnerable population
• Ethno-nationalist strategy:
• protecting interests of a country
• Geographic national interests:
• eg. Russian access to warm water ports in Crimea
• Allegiance of other nations:
• install governments friendly to certain countries eg. Assad and Russia
• Control pivot points:
• gives strategic advantage
• Protect natural resources
• reduces vulnerability and reliance on others
• Wider conflicts:
• provide assistance to prevent certain conflicts or ideologies spreading

Question 2

When may intervention work?

Answer 2

• Space for non military follow-up intervention is created
• non military intervention is carried out
• stable government is created
• long term support by military to deal with after effects of military action eg. Mine clearance
• long term peacekeeping presence
• maintains security

Question 3

How long was the Sierra Leone Civil War?

Answer 3

• 11 years
• 1991 - 2002

Question 4

How was Sierra Leone ruled before the Civil War?

Answer 4

• authoritarian government with a one party system
• poorly managed, resulted in spread of unchecked corruption
• state treasury ran dry no money for education of an entire generation

Question 5

Who are the RUF?

Answer 5

• Revolutionary United Front
• Led by Foday Sankoh
• supported by Liberia
• rebel forces who aimed to overthrow government
• initially were supported by Sierra Leone people
• however lost support due to their cruel attitude towards people (eg. Cutting off limbs to intimidate population + use of child soldiers)

Question 6

Why did the Sierra Leone Civil War occur and what happened?

Answer 6

• RUF saw government as being incompetent at ruling, thus attempted to orchestrate a coup
• indirectly overthrew President Momoh
• overthrown by own military due to lack of action against RUF
• resulted in series of military juntas and then elections in 1996
• President Kabbah signed peace deal with RUF which was broken
• AFRC overthrew Kabbah and ruled for 9 months
• Kabbah reinstated, signed another peace deal
• UN forces deployed, yet were ineffective at reducing RUF activities
• Britain intervenes
• war ends

Question 7

Who intervened militarily in Sierra Leone?

Answer 7

• ECOMOG (Nigerian-led, Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group)
• UNAMSIL (United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone)
• British Army (under Sir David Richards, who took decision to intervene on the ground)

Question 8

How did the Civil War end?

Answer 8

• new elections, with Kabbah winning
• RUF had no seats

Question 9

What factors allowed for British intervention?

Answer 9

• evacuation and intervention had similar operations, made escalating to intervention more justifiable
• media helped Richards advocate to Tony Blair for operation

Question 10

What shape did British intervention take?

Answer 10

• initially just securing airport so that EU and British nationals could evacuate
• after Richards persuaded MOD:
• troops
• British military hardware eg. Helicopters
• munitions
  After War:
• trained soldiers; created Sierra Leone Army
• allowed Sierra Leone to take care of its own security

Question 11

How were human rights improved by intervention?

Answer 11

• restored democratic processes
• soldiers can now retain their right to education
• children are no longer being drafted in, can learn instead

Question 12

What is different about the British Army and this intervention?

Answer 12

• Troops are extremely well trained
• have world class education, thus are good decision makers
• Nearly all people were on board with British intervention within country
• can’t be seen as undermining their sovereignty