Sierra Leone 1999-2000
In 1999 I was seconded from the Royal Marines to be an unarmed United Nations Military Observer (UNMO) in Sierra Leone where the country was in the midst of a civil war. When I arrived there was an uneasy stand off between UN battalions, The Economic Union of West African States (ECOWAS) and the rebel forces (The Revolutionary United Front (RUF)). My role was to establish contact with the rebel forces and persuade them to join the peace process; I'm not sure the photographs adequately capture the tension in what I can only describe as a true 'boy's own adventure'.
Killing time with other UNMOs on our international team whilst making numerous failed attempts to reach Makeni. My memories of this time are primarily of drinking cheap warm whisky and playing poker for matches by lamp light.
UNMOs using a SatPhone to call home from Port Loko.
The rebels tried to cut this man's hands off but he somehow managed to escape despite being badly mangled.
My first meeting with a group of the rebel forces near the town of Port Loko.
The rebel leader 'Morris Kallon' (wearing dungarees) - he is currently serving a 40 year sentence for war crimes at Mpanga Prison in Rwanda
A soviet era T54/55 tank rumbling through Port Loko shortly after an attack by the RUF.
The rebel leader Dennis Mingo (AKA 'Superman' - allegedly so-called because he threw people from buildings and told them to 'fly like Superman'!
A child soldier at the base of 'Superman'.
Rapport building with the rebel field commander 'Brigadier Issa Sessay' in the rebel stronghold of Kabala. Sessay was later sentenced to 53 years in prison.
Registering demobilised child soldiers
