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>
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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>
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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>
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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>