Doing good, not doing well

Reforms and the inflow of money have helped the ruling party more than the people

A decade ago, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was driven from power and Sierra Leone was gripped by a military junta. The entire region faced destabilisation. Troops were sent by Nigeria's own army junta, wary of Freetown's new rulers and their allies, such as Liberia's Charles Ghankay Taylor and Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaoré. A British 'military company', Sandline, became involved and Africa Confidential's reports about Sandline's collaboration with British diplomats in the ousting of the Freetown junta (AC Vol 39 No 5) prompted heated debate in London. Three years later, British troops arrived in Freetown to shore up what was then the world's biggest United Nations peacekeeping mission.

Article Tags:
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Nigeria, Liberia, Charles Ghankay Taylor, Blaise Compaoré, British, France, United States, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Africa Confidential

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