MONROVIA, Montserrado – The James Spriggs Payne Airfield was a scene of sorrow on Thursday following the arrival of the remains of Corporal Ousmane Sheriff of the Liberian contingent serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali.
Sheriff, who served in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, was the only soldier of the Liberian contingent killed by the Tuareg rebels’ insurgency after their Timbuktu position ‘came under multiple mortar shells by 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3.
Family members, friends, relatives and sympathizers could not hold back their tears when the United Nations plane carrying Sheriff’s remains touched down at the James Spriggs Payne Airfield at 1:00 p.m. from Bamako, Mali, escorted by a United Nations delegation.
Eight other Liberian soldiers sustained injuries, with three being in critical condition receiving treatment in Senegal.
Upon the arrival of Sheriff’s remains, the UN flag placed on his casket was removed and turned over to Fatim Sheriff, his widow, and it was immediately replaced by a Liberian flag.
Willette Monger, director of public affairs at the Ministry of National Defense, described Sheriff as a citizen soldier and patriot dedicated to always putting the Liberian contingent mission first.
Monger said the death of Sheriff is a great loss to the ministry and the country.
She said Sheriff’s remains was later flown to Voinjama, Lofa, onboard another UN flight for an Islamic burial.
Monger noted that it was a sad day for Liberia because this was the first casualty the country had experienced since the peacekeeping mission had started in Mali.
In November 21, 2013, Sheriff received training in military occupation specialties. He also received certificates from the United States Air Force in networking, cabling, wireless connectivity, and PC maintenance.
Liberia deployed its first platoon of soldiers as part of the peacekeeping troops of the United Nations Mission in Mali on June 23, 2013.
The second and third groups of soldiers were deployed on June 25, 2015 and September 2, 2016 respectively.
Featured photo by Alex Blamo
