• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

New Sierra Leone army is better-trained, says UN peacekeeping force commander

22 August 2005 – With the United Nations peacekeeping mission winding down by the end of the year, the UN military chief has assured Sierra Leoneans that the national army had been retrained and was much better than it had been during the devastating 11-year civil war.

Speaking of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) and the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) Force Commanded Major-General Sajjad Akram told a news conference Friday that the country was calm and stable and the security agencies would be able to protect the populace.

“This is a different force from what you knew during the war. They have been fully and professionally trained. UNAMSIL has conducted lots of training for both the SLP and RSLAF so that they will be in a better position to provide security for the country.”

He added that there was no immediate security threat from Sierra Leone’s neighbours and since UNAMSIL had handed over security to the Government, it had not asked for help. “This means they are now capable to handle the security situation in the country.”

RSLAF Major General Sam M’Boma said his troops had met the benchmarks set by UNAMSIL and “that’s why the UN now believes we are capable of handling the security of the country.”

SLP Inspector General Brima Acha Kamara said UNAMSIL would leave 20 police advisers to continue training programmes during its follow-on mission starting next January, but “if you look at other police forces in West Africa, you will agree with me that we have improved considerably.”

In other activities linked to UNAMSIL’s departure, the Government also signed an act last week criminalizing trafficking in human beings, especially women and children.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) welcomed the act for which it and other organizations had lobbied the Government of Sierra Leone, saying that there was some evidence that certain children seemed to be victims of trafficking both within the country and across borders.

“The issue of trafficking in persons, particularly of women and children who are the most vulnerable, has been of great concern in post-conflict Sierra Leone. UNICEF therefore hopes that the Act will help the Government of Sierra Leone and its partners to more appropriately respond to issues of prevention, rapid response for identification and prosecution of offenders, as well as the provision of relevant reintegration services for victims,” it said.

Victims often come from families lacking economic opportunities and their problems are compounded by gender, racial and ethnic discrimination, or insecurity, which “create the ideal environment for trafficking networks to form,” UNICEF said.