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Rescued Peacekeepers Arrived at UN Base
About 220 UN peacekeepers who were rescued on Saturday have arrived at a UN base in Daru, an eastern city of Sierra Leone, said a report on Sunday.
The report quoted Major-General Vijay Jetley, commander of the UN force, as saying in Daru that the peacekeepers were rescued with all the weapons they had in their possession after being confined in their camp in Kailahun, the stronghold of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), for more than two months.
Backed by gunships, the UN mission in Sierra Leone, known as Unamsil, Saturday launched a successful military operation to release the confined UN peacekeepers, most of them being Indians, in Kailahun.
Eleven military observers were airlifted to the capital Freetown on Saturday after their release.
According to Jetley, the rescued peacekeepers met resistance by the rebels when they traveled by road through the rebel-held jungle to Daru, about 80 kilometers from Kailahun.
Five UN personnel were injured during the exchange of fire, while heavy casualties were inflicted to the RUF rebels, he said.
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