The junta troops, led by Col. Myo Myint Aung, commander of Infantry Battalion 405, were providing security for the officials while enroute to Three Pagodas Pass. The column was attacked on both Tuesday and Thursday.
Nigeria's military leader, General Sani Abacha, ordered his troops to boot out thejunta in Sierra Leone without a mandate from the United Nations and without telling its secretary-general of his intentions, as he had promised (see article).