Operation Barras was a British Army operation in Sierra Leone in 2000 that rescued five soldiers of the Royal Irish Regiment and 21 Sierra Leonean civilians being held by the West Side Boys militia group. The soldiers were part of a patrol returning from a visit to Jordanian peacekeepers attached to the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) at Masiaka. The ground operation was conducted by D Squadron, 22 Regiment Special Air Service, with a diversionary assault by elements of 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment. At least 25 West Side Boys and one soldier in the rescue party were killed, and 18 West Side Boys—including the gang's leader, Foday Kallay—were taken prisoner and later transferred to the custody of the Sierra Leone Police. Many West Side Boys fled the area during the assault, and over 300 surrendered to UNAMSIL forces within a fortnight. After the operation, the British government increased its support of UNAMSIL and its efforts to bring the Sierra Leone Civil War to an end, both politically, through the United Nations Security Council, and through the provision of staff officers to support UNAMSIL.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barras
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1616:
The Dutch sailing ship Eendracht reached Shark Bay on the western coastline of Australia, as documented on the Hartog Plate (replica pictured) etched by explorer Dirk Hartog. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartog_Plate
1812:
War of 1812: USS United States captured HMS Macedonian, which later became the first British warship to be brought into an American harbor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_United_States_vs_HMS_Macedonian
1861:
The Toronto Stock Exchange, the stock exchange with the most mining and petrochemical companies listed in the world, was established. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Stock_Exchange
1971:
The UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, replacing the Republic of China with the People's Republic of China as China's representative at the United Nations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_and_the_United_Nations
2001:
Windows XP, one of the most popular and widely used versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system, was released for retail sale. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
flash: 1. To briefly illuminate a scene. 2. To blink; to shine or illuminate intermittently. 3. To be visible briefly. […] 4. (transitive, intransitive, informal) To briefly, and in most cases inadvertently, expose one's naked body or underwear, or part of it, in public. (Contrast streak.) 5. (figuratively) To break forth like a sudden flood of light; to show a momentary brilliance. 6. To flaunt; to display in a showy manner. 7. To communicate quickly. 8. To move, or cause to move, suddenly. 9. (transitive) To telephone a person, only allowing the phone to ring once, in order to request a call back. […] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flash
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The highest proof of virtue is to possess boundless power without abusing it. --Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Babington_Macaulay,_1st_Baron_Macaulay