By Peter Penfold
In early 1997 Peter Penfold, arrived in Sierra Leone because the British excessive Commissioner. This attention-grabbing publication describes not only his eventful three-year journey however the heritage and next occasions that positioned this small kingdom on the heart of the realm stage.During his travel, he chanced on himself as correct hand guy to the country's beleaguered President Kabbah. as a result of insurgent activities, together with surprising atrocities, the writer needed to not just evacuate the foreign group (twice) yet used to be compelled out himself. from time to time, he flew in day-by-day from British warships, because the scenario used to be dangerously unstable.We find out how presently after being praised through major Minister Tony Blair for his pivotal function in getting this as soon as wealthy nation again on its ft, he stumbled on himself less than Customs and Excise research and Parliamentary Committee scrutiny for his intended function within the 'Arms for Africa' Enquiry. whereas reprimanded via the FCO, he used to be feted and made a Paramount leader via the Sierra Leone people.He describes how, after his journey used to be reduce brief regardless of his and the host Government's appeals, the placement back deteriorated. He offers a hugely expert account of the next occasions together with the SAS Operation BARRAS - the rescue of the British army hostages. this can be a vitally important account in line with the main privileged wisdom.
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Additional resources for Atrocities, Diamonds and Diplomacy: The Inside Story of the Conflict in Sierra Leone
1000s of lifeless our bodies have been left mendacity round the streets. there have been widespread debts of individuals being burned alive of their homes. young ones and the aged have been fairly weak. numerous agencies, yet specially Human Rights Watch throughout the outstanding paintings of its consultant, Corinne Dufka, have been to list those grotesque acts in a document entitled ‘Getting away with homicide, Mutilation and Rape’. Witnesses defined to her scenes of rebels throwing youngsters into burning homes and taking pictures at those that attempted to flee. kin attempting to rescue their kids or different family from a burning condominium have been threatened with loss of life and compelled to desert them to the hearth. one other awesome Sierra Leonean, Sorious Samura, a tv cameraman, controlled to movie a few of these atrocities and he was once later to supply a photo documentary, Cry Freetown, which received numerous overseas awards. a lot of what he filmed used to be thought of too ugly to teach on British tv, even overdue at evening. one of many Kamajor leaders, who I knew, was once seriously excited about pushing the rebels again. prime a small team of Kamajor and Ecomog troops he used to be continually making forays round components of the town to attempt and halt the insurgent boost. At one level he stumbled on a bunch of 3 rebels who have been forcing a relations out in their residence. one of many rebels, wearing military trousers and a stained T-shirt with a white bandana round his head, was once keeping up a child via its legs in a single hand and conserving a machete within the different. as though he was once cutting meat off a stick, the insurgent swung the machete and decapitated the newborn. My buddy shot the insurgent lifeless and one other who was once status by means of observing this grotesque act with a smile on his face. The 3rd insurgent escaped. the most important variety of killings happened in the context of assaults on civilians accumulated in homes, compounds and locations of safe haven equivalent to church buildings and mosques. A learn performed via MSF (Médicins Sans Frontières) on the Connaught medical institution came upon that a few 80 in line with cent of all conflict wounded have been survivors of mass killings and massacres. Human Rights Watch took tales from rankings of witnesses to such atrocities together with a 6 January assault on a relatives during which all yet considered one of their seven young children have been killed, a 19 January assault at the church of the Brotherhood of the pass and megastar in Wellington, during which twelve humans have been gunned down, a 21 January assault on a compound in Kissy during which seventeen humans have been murdered and later burned, and a 22 January assault at the Rogbalan Mosque in Kissy within which 66 humans have been massacred in chilly blood. 1000s of individuals had arms, palms, legs and different elements of the physique hacked off via the rebels. some of the perpetrators of those atrocities have been youngsters, usually excessive on medications, a few of them slightly in a position to sporting their AK47s, yet nonetheless lethal in utilizing them. in a single incident over twenty humans have been coated up with their arms held out and 2 rebels who couldn't were older than 16 went alongside the road and systematically hacked off the outstretched palms with rusty machetes.