UNAMSIL was not always foreseen to succeed: at one point, in May 2000, the mission nearly collapsed when the rebel
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) kidnapped hundreds of peacekeepers and renounced the ceasefire in a move that
endangered the credibility of UN peacekeeping. Outraged by the chaos that followed, the international community
put pressure on the rebels to obey the ceasefire and slapped sanctions against RUF sponsors. Subsequently,UNAMSIL launched new mediation efforts and brought the two adversaries back to the negotiation table. It brought in more troops to monitor the ceasefire and began disarming fighters from both sides. The United Kingdom, which had sent a force to restore peace following RUF’s breach of the ceasefire, later started restructuring the army while UNAMSIL and other international partners concentrated on training the local police force.