The crisis in Sierra Leone is about much more than bringing the dreadful civil war to an end, richly though its five million people deserve that outcome. The breakdown of the peace agreement there severely strains the United Nations' credibility. Calls for the UN peacekeeping force to be strengthened have so far fallen on deaf ears, notably those of the Western powers which brokered the agreement last year. Failure in Sierra Leone would have grave consequences for the pacification of conflicts elsewhere in Africa, such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola - which are also bound up with the lucrative trade in diamonds.
After eight years of fighting, the warring parties came together last July, when the democratically elected President, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, signed an accord with Mr Foday Sankoh, leader of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), whose followers have been guilty of some of the worst atrocities committed anywhere in the world over recent decades. He was given an amnesty for these crimes, eight cabinet positions and - incredibly as it seems - control of the diamond mines, the main source of foreign exchange earnings. Not surprisingly, it was when the UN force entered the diamond producing area that the agreement broke down, as RUF forces refused to hand over weapons and expose themselves to elections.
The agreement was an exceptionally cynical piece of realpolitik, pushed by Britain, the United States and France and based on the assumption that co-opting Mr Sankoh would encourage him to assume political responsibility for the deal. That strategy appears to have been disproved by events of the last few weeks. It will certainly not be reinstated without a substantial strengthening of the UN operation in Sierra Leone, giving it a mandate and resources to enforce the agreement. The existing force is lightly armed and minimally mandated. It consists of 8,700 relatively inexperienced troops from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, India, Guinea, Jordan and Zambia - substantially fewer than the 11,000 originally considered necessary. The Western powers have flatly refused to provide troops themselves, despite pleas by the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan. The current British operation is intended to rescue its citizens rather than strengthen the UN force. It is hoped to convince Nigeria to become involved in Sierra Leone once again but Nigerian leaders are holding out for financial support if they are to become reinvolved, despite their strategic interest in regional stability. Sierra Leone desperately needs international support at this critical juncture in its history. Thousands of Freetown citizens participated in a protest march to Mr Santoh's house after his troops kidnapped 500 UN soldiers. Yesterday, thousands more were again on the move in fear of resumed all-out fighting with its attendant abominable war crimes. It would be shameful indeed were their trust in the international community to be betrayed.