FYI From Habib Diab Ghanim, Dr JULY 15, 14:29 EDT Sierra Leone Peacekeepers Freed By CLARENCE ROY-MACAULAY Associated Press Writer FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — U.N. troops, in a rare display of force, on Saturday freed all 222 peacekeepers and 11 military observers trapped by rebels inside a U.N. base in eastern Sierra Leone, U.N. officials said. The U.N. observers, of various nationalities, were flown safely by British military helicopters to Freetown. The 222 Indian troops, who had been unable to leave their base in the rebel headquarters of Kailahun since May, meanwhile faced heavy rebel gunfire as they made their way by road toward the U.N.-controlled town of Daru, U.N. spokesman Nigerian Lt. Commander Patrick Coker said. The fate of the rescue convoy was unclear as dusk approached on the muddy road winding through rebel-controlled rain forest. The decision to mount a rescue was made after the U.N. force in Sierra Leone received a distress call from the detainees about dwindling food and medical supplies, according to a U.N. statement. The operation began about 6 a.m. in Kailahun, about 200 miles east of Freetown, when helicopters picked up the military observers. Rebels fired at U.N. troops and the helicopters, said a senior peacekeeping officer, Indian Maj. Arun Anthanarayan. The rebels suffered ``serious casualties'' and two Indian peacekeepers had gunshot wounds to the hand and thigh respectively, Anthanarayan added. No one in the aircraft were injured. ``The situation is still fluid,'' Anthanarayan said. The column of freed peacekeepers were traveling by road in a bid to link up with U.N. troops who fought their way to the rebel-held town of Pendembu, where the British helicopters and U.N. troops also faced rebel fire. From there, both groups hoped to travel onward to safety in Daru. The rescue came two months after the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front reignited Sierra Leone's eight-year civil war by launching attacks on towns and capturing some 500 U.N. hostages. Those hostages were disarmed, and released after several weeks. Over the course of the war, the rebels have systematically killed and maimed tens of thousands of innocent civilians in a bid to gain power through fear. They have abandoned three different peace accords. On Saturday, the 11 military observers arrived in Freetown, looking tired but healthy. ``It's great to be back,'' British Maj. Andrew Harrison said, praising the rescue operation for its efficiency. The helicopters landed for less than a minute to pick up the observers before taking off again, he said. ``Our thoughts are with the (Indian peacekeepers) who are still traveling to Daru,'' he added. Harrison also spoke briefly about a 10-day period of captivity in early May when he was ``maltreated'' by rebels before being allowed to join the Indian contingent in Kailahun, which had more freedom of movement. ``We were (initially) maltreated, held in a hut with armed guards,'' he said without elaborating, adding that local civilians were ``very friendly'' to the captives. While they had been detained, the 222 U.N. peacekeepers still had their weapons. Over the past two weeks, however, the rebels refused to allow the U.N. force in Sierra Leone, known as UNAMSIL, to send them food supplies by road or air. Recent torrential rains had also limited the detained peacekeepers' ability to move, the U.N. statement added. The U.N. soldiers were in a base measuring 500 by 500 yards. ``With a distress signal received from (the detained troops in) Kailahun, regarding the dwindling food and medical stocks, there was no alternative to a military option,'' the statement said. ``The RUF's illegal actions, which have been universally condemned and for which appeals had been made by UNAMSIL to the RUF for quick resolution, yielded no results.'' Kailahun, which has served as the rebels' main headquarters since they launched the war in the early 1990s, is a ravaged town overtaken by jungle. The U.N. rescue team consisted of troops from Ghana, India and Nigeria, according to a U.N. statement earlier Saturday. U.N. force commander Indian Maj. Gen. Vijay Jetley was personally overseeing the mission from a nearby U.N. base in the town of Daru. In a communique, Britain's Defense Secretary, Geoffrey Hoon, praised the United Nations' efforts to secure the safety of the detained military observers, including Harrison. ``I welcome this decisive action by UNAMSIL which demonstrates its clear resolve to operate where and when it needs, in order to meet its mandate in Sierra Leone,'' Hoon said. LATEST NEWS Sierra Leone Peacekeepers Freed UN OKs S. Leone Rebel Diamond Ban Troop Increase for S. Leone Opposed Unruly Militia Defends Sierra Leone Rebel Leader May Be Prosecuted Minerals Bring Little to S. Leone British Troops Leave Sierra Leone U.S. To Free Funds for Sierra Leone Photo Essay: Sierra Leone African Conflict UN Peacekeeping Missions RECENT STORIES Girls Seized, Raped in Sierra Leone Slain APTN Cameraman Remembered Sierra Leone Map Jackson to S. 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