British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook pledged Thursday to “go the distance” to restore peace in Sierra Leone, as he sought to relieve fears of a resurgence of violence when British troops withdraw.
Cook, who arrived Wednesday night for talks on his country’s future role in Sierra Leone, told President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah that Britain was making a “long-term” commitment to its former colony, even as it pushed ahead with plans to withdraw troops.
Many Sierra Leoneans, however, have pleaded for the British forces to remain in the West African country, where a feared rebel movement has reignited an eight-year civil war.
British forces were deployed last month to secure the international airport at Lungi, across a bay from Freetown, for the evacuation of British and other European citizens, and the arrival of more UN peacekeepers.
Both tasks have been achieved, and British troops are now preparing to hand the airport over to the 11,850-strong UN force. British Royal Marine commandos are scheduled to withdraw next week, leaving 180 soldiers behind to carry out an intensive training program for Sierra Leone army recruits.
Also remaining will be two British ships that the people of Sierra Leone “will see every morning when they open their windows and look out at the bay,” Cook said.
