DATE=5/11/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=SIERRA LEONE / ESCAPE (RPT)
NUMBER=5-46301
BYLINE=JOHN PITMAN
DATELINE=FREETOWN
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In Sierra Leone, three British military
observers and one from New Zealand have escaped from a
compound surrounded by the country's Revolutionary
United Front rebels. The four observers made their
way through the West African bush from Makeni [pron:
muh-`KENN-ee], the town where they were detained with
a group of Kenyan peacekeeping troops, to Freetown.
V-O-A's John Pitman reports from the Sierra Leone
capital on the men's ordeal and their dramatic
getaway.
TEXT: For British Royal Marines Major David Lingard,
the most difficult part of the escape was the
beginning. The last moments before he and the other
three officers jumped over the fence of the Kenyan
compound in Makeni were like standing at the end of a
very high diving board, he said.
"The regular night-time noises, the insects, my
heartbeat -- everything seemed to echo to eternity,"
he added.
At a news conference Thursday here in Freetown, Major
Lingard described how he and his fellow Britons --
Major Andrew Samsonoff and Lieutenant-Commander Paul
Rowand - and New Zealand Army Major Phil Ashby reached
that point of no return.
Until earlier this month, the four men had been
working in the Makeni area as U-N military observers,
helping supervise the disarmament of rebel fighters
from the Revolutionary United Front, the R-U-F. But
on May 2nd, after a confrontation with the R-U-F
escalated into a gun-battle between the rebels and
Kenyan peacekeepers in Makeni, the four observers were
forced to take shelter in the Kenyan compound, which
was then surrounded by more than two-thousand R-U-F
fighters.
In the first detailed description of the siege in
Makeni, Major Lingard said most days were quiet, but
in the evenings the rebels would aim small-arms fire
at the compound.
"I don't know if they were probing our defenses," he
said, "or just trying to freak people out."
Initially, escape was not a top priority for the four
observers, who said they hoped an agreement would be
reached quickly to end the siege.
Speaking for the others on Thursday, Major Lingard
said, "We thought it would be stupid to get lost in
the bush and get eaten by snakes, if an agreement was
imminent." But when a deal did not come, the four men
began to plan a getaway, examining R-U-F positions
around the compound for weaknesses they might exploit.
// OPT // The planning took on added urgency when the
officers began to feel increasingly vulnerable.
According to Major Lingard, the R-U-F began making
specific threats against the British -- possibly, he
suggested, because the rebels hold a grudge against
Britain for covertly arming Sierra Leone's during the
country's civil war, despite an international arms
embargo.
Major Lingard said the four officers quietly contacted
a few Kenyan soldiers, including the sentries who
manned machine guns near the front gate of the
compound, about the escape plan. But, he added, there
was no request for any diversionary activity by the
Kenyans, for fear the R-U-F might retaliate against
the peacekeepers. // END OPT //
The British army would not let the men say exactly
when they escaped or what route they took -- hinting
there might be other escapees trying to make their way
to friendly territory.
Major Lingard did say, however, that once they decided
to go, they reckoned they would have to cover about 70
kilometers very quickly, to establish enough of a head
start. Once over the wall and running, the men said
they were so filled with adrenalin that their earlier
fears were forgotten. But over the next three days
that energy would slowly slip away, as the men hacked
through dense underbrush, drank stagnant water and
sliept for just one hour.
// OPT // Major Lingard said the group's two major
concerns were running into the R-U-F and running out
of water. Traveling mostly by night, the men hid in
bushes during the day, avoiding villages and other
areas where they might come upon R-U-F fighters. They
drank whatever moisture they could find, running all
water through a filter and treating it with
purification tablets.
Like all good adventure stories, this one also had
moments of near-disaster, grinding frustration and
even humor.
While hiding out the first day after leaving Makeni,
the men listened to a football match on the radio, but
could not cheer out loud, because villagers were
harvesting mangoes from a nearby tree.
A day later, the men's spirits sank when they
discovered their satellite telephone's battery was
dead. // END OPT //
After two days on the run, Major Lingard said the
group started to suffer the effects of dehydration and
exhaustion. Hallucinations set in. Although they
were still in R-U-F - held territory, that's when they
decided to take a chance and ask for help from local
villagers.
The gamble paid off. Using hand signals (like thumbs-
up for "good" and thumbs-down for "bad") the group
determined that the villagers they met had been
victimized by the R-U-F during Sierra Leone's eight-
year civil war, and were ready to help. The villagers
provided a guide, who acted as a scout, running ahead
of the group and waving them forward when the coast
was clear. "We were very lucky," said Major Lingard.
"The villagers were incredibly helpful."
On the third day after leaving Makeni, the group
crossed into territory controlled by the pro-
government Kamajor [pron: `KAH-muh-dzhohr] militia.
There they were given food, plastic sandals and a safe
place to sleep, while a runner went ahead to alert the
nearest U-N post of their arrival. A few hours later,
and 72 hours after leaving Makeni, a helicopter
arrived to pick them up.
/// REST OPT ///
Until their escape, the observers were among 273 U-N
peacekeepers and observers detained by the R-U-F, in
several locations around Sierra Leone. An additional
225 peacekeepers are missing - presumed held by the
rebels. (Signed)
NEB/JP/WTW
11-May-2000 23:07 PM EDT (12-May-2000 0307 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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