Nelson Mandela asked Washington for help in rescuing South African journalist Phillip van Niekerk from Liberia after he was trapped in the fighting this week.
When the guns began firing in down-town Monrovia, Van Niekerk, the Southern African correspondent for the M&G’s sister newspaper The Observer, was the only foreign newsman left in Liberia. South Africa has no presence in the West African country. The Department of Foreign Affairs was unaware there were any citizens in Liberia until Tuesday evening, when senior officials were informed about Van Niekerk’s presence.
United States authorities were flying US citizens out of Monravia to Freetown in neighbouring Sierra Leone, but Van Niekerk as a South African did not qualify for assistance. He remained in a hotel as battles raged through the city centre.
When Mandela heard of his precarious position, he sent a message to the White House asking President Bill Clinton to take care of him. As a result, Van Niekerk was included in the US evacuation to Freetown.