Let me briefly rehearse the events that have produced this tragic situation. In May of 1997. the democratically elected president of Sierra Leone. President Tejan Kabbah. was overthrown in a military coup. leading to a large outflow of refugees and the evacuation of our own and other foreign embassies in the capital of Freetown. For nine months. the country was ruled by a coalition of rebel groups including the AFRC (Armed Forces Revolutionary Council) and the RUF (Revolutionary United Front). In February 1998. the West African peacekeeping force (ECOMOG. a regional force principally composed of Nigerians) secured control of Freetown and restored Kabbah to power.
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refugees