Washington, DC -- With the release yesterday of just over a hundred UN peacekeepers, the fate of the UN effort to bring peace and stability to Sierra Leone remains tenuous at best. Can the UN mission in Sierra Leone be salvaged? How does instability in Sierra Leone and Central Africa affect U.S. national security? What role can and should the international community play in addressing ethnic conflicts and humanitarian crises throughout Africa? Africa specialists Princeton Lyman, David Smock and George F. Ward Jr. are available for questions, commentary, and analysis in examining the crisis in Sierra Leone and its impact on the UN's peacekeeping abilities throughout Africa.

• Princeton N. Lyman
  
• David Smock
  
• George F. Ward Jr.

The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, promote post-conflict stability and development, and increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide. The Institute does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by directly engaging in peacebuilding efforts around the globe.