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DAKAR — When Sierra Leone's brutal civil war was declared over in January 2002, Britain's then-prime minister Tony Blair was welcomed as a hero for the role his troops played in pushing the rebels out of Freetown.
The west African state marks 10 years of peace Wednesday and Blair -- who has been a close advisor of the regime as it rebuilds -- has praised a stability many thought impossible, in a telephone interview with AFP.
"I think I would summarise it as a lot done and a lot to do ... it's in far better shape than it was ten years ago but it's still got big challenges," said Blair, recalling the end of one of Africa's most terrifying wars.
In 2000 the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) under Foday Sankoh was advancing on the capital and the UN mission and government forces were unable to stop them.
"I was very agitated by what was happening there. Basically the country was being taken over by a bunch of gangsters," said Blair.
He authorised the then chief of the British armed forces, General Michael Jackson, to send in some 1,000 troops.
Operation Palliser was billed as a mission to evacuate expatriates, but troops stepped in to stop the rebels, shifting momentum in the war.
"It was a difficult thing to do at the time, it was an unusual intervention done purely by us. We didn't have anyone to help us," Blair said.
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