was the first large-scale intervention by British forces in the
country's civil war. A team was dispatched under Brigadier David
Richards (pictured in 2012) to evacuate foreign citizens after the
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) advanced on the country's capital,
Freetown. British forces then began to assist the U.N. Mission in Sierra
Leone and the Sierra Leone Army (SLA). They first came into direct
contact with the RUF 10 days after arrival, when the rebels attacked a
British position near Lungi International Airport. While training the
SLA for confrontations with the RUF, a British patrol was taken captive
by a militia group known as the West Side Boys. Negotiations achieved
the release of five soldiers; three weeks later, British special forces
freed the remaining six, restoring confidence in the British mission.
The RUF began to disarm after political pressure and economic sanctions
were exerted on its supporter Liberia. The British training teams were
replaced by an international force in September 2001. The mission's
success vindicated several concepts, including the retention of high-
readiness forces.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_military_intervention_in_the_Sierra_Leone_Civil_War>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1270:
Yekuno Amlak deposed the last Zagwe king and seized the
imperial throne of Ethiopia, beginning the reign of the Solomonic
dynasty that would last for more than 700 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekuno_Amlak>
1793:
The Louvre officially opened in Paris with an exhibition of 537
paintings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Louvre>
1861:
American Civil War: The first major battle west of the
Mississippi River, the Battle of Wilson's Creek, was fought.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wilson%27s_Creek>
1953:
First Indochina War: The French Union withdrew its forces from
Operation Camargue against the Viet Minh in central modern-day Vietnam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Camargue>
1988:
Japanese American internment: The Civil Liberties Act of 1988
became law, authorizing US$20,000 in reparations to each surviving
internee.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Liberties_Act_of_1988>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
leeward:
Away from the direction from which the wind is blowing. Downwind.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leeward>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A constitutional republic dedicated before everything to the
protection of liberty cannot legalize torture and remain a
constitutional republic. It imports into itself a tumor of pure tyranny.
--Andrew Sullivan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andrew_Sullivan>
_______________________________________________
Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list.
To unsubscribe, visit:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l
Questions or comments? Contact dal-feedback@wikimedia.org