Operation Khukri

Operation Khukri
	Part of Sierra Leone Civil War
Date	13–16 July 2000
Location	Sierra Leone
Result	UN victory Besieged UN Forces extracted.; Freetown successfully defended against RUF attack.;
Belligerents
UNAMSIL India; United Kingdom; Ghana; Nigeria;	Revolutionary United Front
Commanders and leaders
Maj. Gen. V.K. Jetley; Col. Satish Kumar (Commander 5/8 Gurkha Rifles); Grp. Capt. Bijender Singh Siwach	Unknown
Strength
2,000 Ground & Airborne units 223 troops; (5/8th Gorkha Rifles, besieged at Kailahun); 6 riflemen companies; (5/8th Gorkha Rifles & 14th Mechanised Infantry Battalion); 1 rapid reaction company; (Mechanised infantry & Para SF); 18th Grenadiers; QRC of mechanised infantry; 1 company of engineers; 2 Para (SF); several mortars; 1 light gun; ; Aircraft 3 Mil Mi-35s; 8 Mil Mi-8; 2 HAL Chetaks; 2 Chinooks; 1 C-130 Hercules; ; Reserves 2 Ghanaian companies; 2 Nigerian companies; ;	5,000 (5 battalions)
Casualties and losses
1 killed; several wounded; 33 suffering from illness; 1 vehicle destroyed	hundreds killed & wounded

Operation Khukri was a multinational operation launched in the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), involving India, Ghana, Britain and Nigeria. The aim of the operation was to break the two-month-long siege laid by armed cadres of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) around two companies of 5/8th Gorkha Rifles Infantry Battalion Group of the Indian Army at Kailahun by effecting a fighting breakout and redeploying them with the main battalion at Daru.^[1]^[5]^[6]

^ ^a ^b ^c "Peacekeeping in Sierra Leone". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
^ "Sierra Leone – Barefoot Soldiers for Social Justice, Food Security and Peace". London School of Economics Blogs. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Operation Khukri (2000)". Special Operations. Shadow Spear. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
^ "USI of India | an article by USI". Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ "Operation Khukri". UN Ops involving the Indian Air Force. Vayu Sena Tripod. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
^ "IAF 2000 Contingent to UNAMSIL". UN Mission. Official Website of the Indian Air Force. Retrieved 19 July 2012.