The UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) launched an “intensive operation” on Saturday to clear illegal checkpoints on the roads between Freetown and Lungi, site of the international airport, UNAMSIL said. ‘Operation Thunderbolt’ involved “robust” patrols by Indian, Jordanian and Nigerian peacekeepers supported by helicopter gunships, Lieutenant Commander Patrick Coker, UNAMSIL military spokesman, told IRIN on Monday. “All roadblocks and checkpoints have now been removed and UNAMSIL patrols are in the area,” he said, adding that there were no reports of casualties among the peacekeepers even though they encountered “pockets of resistance”. However, a convoy of Guinean UN peacekeeping troops carrying food rations from Freetown to the southern town of Bo was ambushed by members of the ‘West Side Boys’ in the Occra Hills area, shortly after ‘Operation Thunderbolt’, UNAMSIL spokeswoman Hirut Befecadu told IRIN on Monday. One peacekeeper injured in the attack, described as “isolated” by the UN, was transported by helicopter for treatment in Freetown. Meanwhile, 24 suspected RUF members were arrested on Thursday by Kenyan and Zambian peacekeepers at Lungi, the UN reported. All the suspects, 23 of whom are women, were handed over to the police for investigation.
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