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Saturday Morning News

U.N. Military Mission Rescues Captive Peacekeepers in Sierra Leone

Aired July 15, 2000 - 8:11 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We have breaking news from Sierra Leone that the United Nations launched a military operation and freed 222 peacekeepers and 11 military observers. They had been trapped at a rebel stronghold in eastern Sierra Leone just outside of Freetown. Details of the rescue mission are still sketchy. The peacekeepers have been held captive since May.

To give you a little bit of background, U.N. officials say the captives were running low on food and medical supplies and they had no choice but to launch a rescue mission.

I understand we have an interview now and I'm not sure who it is. Is it a reporter? Could you please tell me? We have a U.N. spokesperson with us, Hirut. And please help me with your last name.

HIRUT BEFECADU, U.N. SPOKESMAN: Befecadu.

PHILLIPS: Befecadu. Thank you very much for joining us. This is all breaking at the last minute here. I apologize. What can you tell us about the operation?

BEFECADU: Well, this morning at around 7:30 we had to launch a military operation to liberate these 253 peacekeepers and their observers and from a place called Kalahone (ph), which, where they were kept since May 1st by the RUF, the Revolutionary United Front. We had to go into launching a military operation because we were, they, their military observers were low on food and supplies and the RUF had turned down our request to bring in food and medical supplies to them. And we were able to bring in other troops to come into the compound where they were held and actually bring them all out.

PHILLIPS: Mr. Befecadu, was it a surprise attack or was it a slow operation that went smoothly? Can you kind of give us a feel for...

BEFECADU: Yes, it was a surprise and it was well planned on our part because we had to keep to the mandate of the United Nations so far whereby we, as a peacekeeping force, did not want to engage in military operations and therefore we were resorting to negotiations and getting to get the RUF to understand that as peacekeepers and as United Nations we should not have our peacekeeping forces and our military observers detained by them. But when we had this problem of dwindling food and medicine stocks, it was, there was no alternative but to go in and help get these people out from the compound where they were kept.

PHILLIPS: And that happened safely and with no resistance so far. That's good news to report. U.N. Spokesperson Hirut Befecadu, thank you very much.

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